| Type: | Family | Name: | Lantibiotic leader peptide-processing serine protease |
| Description: | Lantibiotic genes reside on the bacterial chromosome, where they cluster with genes that adapt and secrete them to the extracellular space. Many of these so-called 'pathogenicity islands' have been characterised, including the epidermin (epi) cluster in Staphylococcus epidermis, and the nisin (nis) cluster in Lactococcus lactis[]. The gene encoding the lantibiotic is flanked by 3 regulatory genes: 2 that are usually involved ina 2-component regulatory system, and another that cleaves the signal peptide from the precursor to produce the mature lantibiotic. This protein (usually designated with a "P" suffix - nisP, mutP, etc.) is highly conserved amongst pathogenic species, and is essential for virulence and survival of the bacterium against competitors in the host []. Recently, a novel pathogenicity island in resistant Enterococcus faecaliswas sequenced. In addition to the lantibiotic Cyl gene cluster, this revealed a novel set of virulence factors involved in vancomycin resistance and pathogenicity []. | Short Name: | Lanit_process |
