Presented here are recent findings on bacteriocins:
plasmid-encoded toxins produced by bacteria, which differ
from traditional antibiotics in killing only bacteria that
are closely related to the producing strain. Included are
introductory chapters on bacteriocins, microcins (low
molecular weight bacteriocins), and lantibiotics (peptide
antibiotics containing lanthionine), further, contributions
on pore forming bacteriocins, the mechanisms of immunity to
bacteriocins, uptake and secretion, as well as evolution of
bacteriocins. It is of particular interest that the
lantibiotic nisin is approved for use as food preservative
and another lantibiotic, epidermin, has potential as a
therapeutic drug against acne.

Inhalt
to the Microcin Session.- Escherichia coli genes regulating the production of microcins MCCB17 and MCCC7.- Uptake and mode of action of the peptide antibiotic microcin B17.- The structure and maturation pathway of microcin B17.- Bacteriocins of Gram-positive bacteria: an opinion regarding their nature, nomenclature and numbers.- Molecular properties of Lactobacillus bacteriocins.- Lactococcal bacteriocins: genetics and mode of action.- to the Lantibiotics session.- Lantibiotics : An overview and conformational studies on Gallidermin and Pep5.- Biosynthesis of the lantibiotic Pep5 and mode of action of type A lantibiotics.- Identification of genes involved in lantibiotic synthesis.- Pore forming bacteriocins.- In vivo properties of colicin A: channel activity and translocation.- Site-directed fluorescence spectroscopy as a tool to study the membrane insertion of colicin A.- Structure-function of the colicin E1 ion channel: voltage-driven translocation and gating of a tetra- (or hexa-) helix channel.- Voltage-dependent gating of colicin E1 channels in planar bilayers.- Immunity to colicins.- Immunity protein to pore forming colicins.- Specificity determinants for the interaction of colicin E9 with its immunity protein.- Structural studies on colicin E3 and its immunity protein.- Study of the import mechanisms of colicins through protein engineering and K+ efflux kinetics.- Import and export of colicin M.- TolA: structure, location and role in the uptake of colicins.- Domains of the Escherichia coli BtuB protein involved in outer membrane association and interaction with colicin translocation components.- A structure-function analysis of BtuB, the E.coli vitamin B12 outer membrane transport protein.- General introduction to the secretion of bacteriocins.- Functioning of the pCloDF13 encoded BRP.- Structure/function relationships in the signal sequence of the colicin A lysis protein.- The secretion of colicin V.- to the session on the evolution of bacteriocins.- Molecular evolution of E colicin plasmids with emphasis on the endonuclease types.- Immunity specificity and evolution of the nuclease-type E colicins.- Replicon evolution of ColE2-related plasmids.- Manuscripts of poster presentations.- Genetic determinants for microcin H47, an Escherichia coli chromosome-encoded antibiotic.- BLIS production in the genus Streptococcus.- A new Leuconostoc bacteriocin, Mesentericin Y105, bactericidal to Listeria monocytogenes.- Cloning and characterisation of a lysin gene from a Listeria bacteriophage.- Transformation of Enterococcus faecalis OGIX with the plasmid pMB2 encoding for the peptide antibiotic AS-48, by protoplast fusion and regeneration on calcium alginate.- NMR studies of lantibiotics: the three-dimensional structure of nisin in aqueous solution.- Localization and phenotypic expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis of the Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis lantibiotic nisin.- Expression of nisin in Bacillus subtllis.- Tn5301, a Lactococcal transposon encoding genes for nisin biosynthesis.- Development of yeast inhibitory compounds for incorporation into silage inoculants.- The excC and excD genes of Escherichia coli K-12 encode the peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL) and the TolQ protein, respectively.- Resistance and tolerance of bacteria to E colicins.- Construction and characterization of chimeric proteins between pyocins and colicin E3.- Colicins as anti-tumour drugs.- List of Participants.