TY - JOUR
T1 - Gregatins, a Group of Related Fungal Secondary Metabolites, Inhibit Aspects of Quorum Sensing in Gram-Negative Bacteria
AU - Beenker, Wouter A G
AU - Hoeksma, Jelmer
AU - den Hertog, Jeroen
N1 - Copyright © 2022 Beenker, Hoeksma and den Hertog.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Quorum sensing (QS) is a process that regulates gene expression based on cell density. In bacteria, QS facilitates collaboration and controls a large number of pathways, including biofilm formation and virulence factor production, which lead to lower sensitivity to antibiotics and higher toxicity in the host, respectively. Inhibition of QS is a promising strategy to combat bacterial infections. In this study, we tested the potential of secondary metabolites from fungi to inhibit bacterial QS using a library derived from more than ten thousand different fungal strains. We used the reporter bacterium, Chromobacterium violaceum, and identified 39 fungal strains that produced QS inhibitor activity. These strains expressed two QS inhibitors that had been described before and eight QS inhibitors that had not been described before. Further testing for QS inhibitor activity against the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa led to the identification of gregatins as an interesting family of compounds with QS inhibitor activity. Although various gregatins inhibited QS in P. aeruginosa, these gregatins did not inhibit virulence factor production and biofilm formation. We conclude that gregatins inhibit some, but not all aspects of QS.
AB - Quorum sensing (QS) is a process that regulates gene expression based on cell density. In bacteria, QS facilitates collaboration and controls a large number of pathways, including biofilm formation and virulence factor production, which lead to lower sensitivity to antibiotics and higher toxicity in the host, respectively. Inhibition of QS is a promising strategy to combat bacterial infections. In this study, we tested the potential of secondary metabolites from fungi to inhibit bacterial QS using a library derived from more than ten thousand different fungal strains. We used the reporter bacterium, Chromobacterium violaceum, and identified 39 fungal strains that produced QS inhibitor activity. These strains expressed two QS inhibitors that had been described before and eight QS inhibitors that had not been described before. Further testing for QS inhibitor activity against the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa led to the identification of gregatins as an interesting family of compounds with QS inhibitor activity. Although various gregatins inhibited QS in P. aeruginosa, these gregatins did not inhibit virulence factor production and biofilm formation. We conclude that gregatins inhibit some, but not all aspects of QS.
U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2022.934235
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2022.934235
M3 - Article
C2 - 35865924
SN - 1664-302X
VL - 13
SP - 934235
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
ER -