A protein produced by bacteria that kills or inhibits the growth of other bacteria, acting like a natural antibiotic.
From bacteria + -cin (from cide, Latin 'caedere' meaning to kill). Discovered in the 1920s when scientists noticed bacteria producing substances that eliminated competing bacteria.
Bacteriocins are basically bacterial warfare—some bacteria produce them as weapons against their competitors, and researchers are now engineering them as potential alternatives to traditional antibiotics as bacteria become resistant.
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