Bacteria have been reported for the production of wide range of biosurfactants. Some biosurfactants have antibacterial and antifungal activities in which they targets cell wall and cell membranes. If it is then how producer bacteria protect itself from antibacterial effect of biosurfactants?
Hello Hari, an antimicrobial compound is an antimicrobial compound, be they full-scale antibiotics, bacteriocins, other small peptides, biosurfactants, exotoxins, degradative enzymes, alcohols or organic acids; they act against other competing organisms and not self. A producing organism is not susceptible to its own antimicrobial agent. It is a learned behaviour; an aspect of intrinsic or innate resistance or tolerance in some cases. If you remember self-recognition in immunology or the ability of endonucleases to distinguish between self DNA and foreign ones in microbial genetics, you will appreciate this better. Alcohols, when allowed to build up (concentration effect) in batch fermenters can exert inhibitory effect on the producing organism. So continuous or semi-continuous modes of fermentation are frequently employed in this kind of production. It will make absolutely no sense for an organism to produce a poison to kill itself. This is absolutely against natural law and will negate the physiological principle of self-perpetuation.
in general, bacteria that product antibacterial agent, have to gene, one for coding that and another for protecting themselves from agent that produced.
for example consider lysostaphin that produced by staphylococcus simulans. lysostaphin target panta glycin that can killed staphylococcus aureus but s. simulans have a gene that produce another structure in cell wall so be alive against bacteriocin that product itself.
good luck
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