Sakacins are bacteriocins produced by Lactobacillus sakei . They are often clustered with the other lactic acid bacteriocins. [1] The best known sakacins are sakacin A, G, K, P, and Q. In particular, sakacin A and P have been well characterized.
The conventions governing the naming of sakacins are somewhat confused. Sakacin Z was named because it is produced by L. sakei Z, just as Sakacin 670 was named because it was produced by L. sakei 670; but the remaining naming convention uses letters A-Z, of which few are unambiguously available. Worse yet, many strains produce several sakacins [20] so that naming them by strain is ambiguous.
Many of the sakacins have been tested for industrial applications [21] and inserted into other lactic acid bacteria. [22] Some have been engineered for production in food environments as well. Many were actually discovered in food contexts, like Greek dry cured sausage (sakacin B). In modern food chemistry, the sakacins have been studied for their use against Listeria in the production of sausages (like Portuguese lingüiça) and cured meat products (such as ham [23] and cold cuts [24] ), cheeses, and other lactic acid fermented products. They are also used to repress unwanted bacterial growth that might cause ropiness, sliminess, malodor and other product defects.