In vivo cluster formation of nisin and lipid II is correlated with membrane depolarization.

Nisin and related lantibiotics kill bacteria by pore formation or by sequestering lipid II. Some lantibiotics sequester lipid II into clusters, which were suggested to kill cells through delocalized peptidoglycan synthesis. Here, we show that cluster formation is always concomitant with (i) membrane pore formation and (ii) membrane depolarization. Nisin variants that cluster lipid II kill L-form bacteria with similar efficiency, suggesting that delocalization of peptidoglycan synthesis is not the primary killing mechanism of these lantibiotics.