Staphylococcus aureus strain CH-91, isolated from a broiler chicken with atopic dermatitis, has a highly proteolytic phenotype that is correlated with the disease. We describe the isolation and biochemical and molecular characterization of the AI-type lantibiotic BacCH91 from S. aureus CH-91 culture medium. The bacteriocin was purified using a three-stage procedure comprising precipitation with ammonium sulfate, extraction with organic solvents, and reversed-phase HPLC. The BacCH91 peptide is thermostable and highly resistant to cleavage by both prokaryotic and eukaryotic peptidases. The MIC for the Gram-positive bacteria ranged from 2.5 nM for Microococcus luteus through 1.3-6.0 mu M for staphylococcal strains up to more than 100 mu M for Lactococcus lactis. BacCH91 was ineffective against the Gram-negative strains tested at the maximal concentration (100 mu M). The amino acid sequence of BacCH91 is similar to that of epidermin and gallidermin. The encoding gene (bacCH91) occurred in two allelic variants distinguishable in the restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Variant I, identified in S. aureus CH-91, dominated in S. aureus strains of poultry origin, although strains with variant II were also identified in this group. S. aureus strains of human origin were characterized exclusively by variant II.