Inhibition of ribonucleic acid polymerase by a bacteriocin from Bacteroides fragilis

The Bacteroides fragilis bacteriocin which inhibits ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase activity had a narrow activity spectrum in vivo and only inhibited the growth of certain B. fragilis strains. In vitro the bacteriocin was not specific and inhibited RNA polymerases from widely diverse bacterial genera. RNA polymerases from rifampin-resistant strains of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Clostridium acetobutylicum were resistant to the bacteriocin in vitro. Purified bacteriocin bound to partially purified RNA polymerase, and both proteins were cosedimented in a glycerol gradient. In the RNA polymerase reaction, the bacteriocin acted as a competitive inhibitor for adenosine, cytidine, and uridine 5'-triphosphates and as a noncompetitive inhibitor for guanosine 5'-triphosphate. The bacteriocin did not inhibit RNA polymerase from chicken embryos.