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Updated: May 21, 2026

Antimicrobial Peptides Produced by Selective Pressure Incorporation of Non-canonical Amino Acids
Published on: May 4, 2018
Production of the antimicrobial peptides Caseicin A and B by Bacillus isolates growing on sodium caseinate
R M Kent1, C M Guinane, P M O'Connor
1Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland.
Aims:
The aim of this study was to identify Bacillus isolates capable of degrading sodium caseinate and subsequently to generate bioactive peptides with antimicrobial activity.
Methods And Results:
Sodium caseinate (2.5% w/v) was inoculated separately with 16 Bacillus isolates and allowed to ferment overnight. Protein breakdown in the fermentates was analysed using gel permeation-HPLC (GP-HPLC) and screened for peptides (<3-kDa) with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Caseicin A (IKHQGLPQE) and caseicin B (VLNENLLR), two previously characterized antimicrobial peptides, were identified in the fermentates of both Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis isolates. The caseicin peptides were subsequently purified by RP-HPLC and antimicrobial assays indicated that the peptides maintained the previously identified inhibitory activity against the infant formula pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii.
Conclusions:
We report a new method using Bacillus sp. to generate two previously characterized antimicrobial peptides from casein.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
This study highlights the potential to exploit Bacillus sp. or the enzymes they produce for the generation of bioactive antimicrobial peptides from bovine casein.
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