Bacteriocins are ribosomal-synthesized antimicrobial peptides that inhibit the growing of pathogenic and/or deteriorating bacteria. The most studied bacteriocin-producing microorganisms are lactic acid bacteria (LAB), as they have great potential application in food biopreservation, since the majority have GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status. The LAB-producing bacteriocins and/or bacteriocins produced by these bacteria have been widely studied, with the emphasis on those derived from milk and dairy products. On the other hand, isolates from meat and meat products are less studied. The objective of this review is to address the main characteristics, classification, and mechanism of action of bacteriocins and their use in food, to highlight studies on the isolation of LAB with bacteriocinogenic potential from meat and meat products and also to characterize, purify, and apply these bacteriocins in meat products. In summary, most of the microorganisms studied areLactococcus,Enterococcus,Pediococcus, andLactobacillus, which produce bacteriocins such as nisin, enterocin, pediocin, pentocin, and sakacin, many with the potential for use in food biopreservation.

Germ cells are physically coupled to somatic support cells of the gonad during differentiation, but this coupling must be disrupted when they are mature, freeing them to participate in fertilization. In mammalian females, coupling occurs via specialized filopodia that project from the ovarian follicular granulosa cells to the oocyte. Here, we show that signaling through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the granulosa, which becomes activated at ovulation, uncouples the germ and somatic cells by triggering a massive and temporally synchronized retraction of the filopodia. Although EGFR signaling triggers meiotic maturation of the oocyte, filopodial retraction is independent of the germ cell state, being regulated solely within the somatic compartment, where it requires ERK-dependent calpain-mediated loss of filopodia-oocyte adhesion followed by Arp2/3-mediated filopodial shortening. By uncovering the mechanism regulating germ-soma uncoupling at ovulation, our results open a path to improving oocyte quality in human and animal reproduction.