Synergistic Inhibition by Bacteriocin and Bacteriophage against Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract Staphylococcus aureus is a representative pathogenic bacterium carefully controlled in the dairy industry because it causes bovine mastitis and thus, can enter the dairy chain. Furthermore, the emergence of multi-drug resistant S. aureus is a big problem. We previously isolated a Lactococcus lactis strain producing a bacteriocin that exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against S. aureus. In this study, we investigated the synergistic inhibition of S. aureus by the bacteriocin and a bacteriophage (SAP84) which is specific to the organism. The bacteriocin (12.5–100 AU/mL) inhibited the growth of S. aureus KCTC 3881 in a dose-dependent manner, as did the bacteriophage SAP84 (0.001–1 MOI; multiplicity of infection). Co-treatment with the bacteriocin (100 AU/mL) and the bacteriophage (0.1 MOI) significantly inhibited the growth of S. aureus compared to each treatment alone (bacteriocin or bacteriophage), indicating the two components showed synergistic inhibition of S. aureus. Therefore, the bacteriocin and bacteriophage combination can be used as a good strategy for controlling pathogenic bacteria.