Prevalence of the phenomenon of production of peptide factors of antagonism among coagulase-negative staphylococci

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) isolated from clinical hospital environmental objects were screened for their ability to produce antibacterial compounds. It was shown that CNS strains with pronounced antagonistic activity were detected with a frequency of about 1.4%. The antibacterial activity of individual CNS strains was due to the release of low-molecular peptide compounds into the environment. The molecular weight of three isolated peptides was 2985, 2998, and 3004 Da. The peptide secreted by Staphylococcus hominis bacteria contains an unusual amino acid, methyllanthionine, and can be classified as a class I bacteriocin, a lantibiotic. The antibacterial activity of the isolated peptides was demonstrated against gram-positive bacteria of various genera that are phylogenetically unrelated to the producers.