Lantibiotics are antibiotic peptides distinguished by the presence of the rare thioether amino acids lanthionine and/or methyl-lanthionine. They are produced by Gram-positive bacteria as gene-encoded precursor peptides and undergo post-translational modification to generate the mature peptide. Based on their structural and functional features lantibiotics are currently divided into two major groups: the flexible amphiphilic type-A and the rather rigid and globular type-B. Type-A lantibiotics act primarily by pore formation in the bacterial membrane by a mechanism involving the interaction with specific docking molecules such as the membrane precursor lipid II [1].

1: Biosynthesis and biological activities of lantibiotics with unique post-translational modifications. Sahl HG, Jack RW, Bierbaum G; Eur J Biochem 1995;230:827-853. PMID:7601145