Isolation and characterization of a Streptococcus mutans bacteriocin inhibitor from Streptococcus pyogenes.

An inhibitor of Streptococcus mutans strain GS5 bacteriocin was released from a bacteriocin-sensitive strain of S. pyogenes by sonic treatment and partly purified by gel filtration on a Sepharose 6B column. The inhibitory factor was sensitive to heat, trypsin, and periodate and possessed a molecular weight of approximately 93,000. This factor may be the receptor for the S. mutans bacteriocin.