An efficient and novel screening model for assessing the bioactivity of extracts against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa using Caenorhabditis elegans.

As a large number of multidrug-resistant bacteria have emerged, and there is an urgent need for the development of new antibacterial agents. In this study, we developed a liquid-based slow killing assay to be carried out in standard 96-well microtiter plates. This screening method was designed to facilitate high-throughput screening of small molecules and extracts. In antibiotic rescue assays, the Caenorhabditis elegans multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection model displayed a high degree of drug resistance in vivo and in vitro. We used the method to screen 1,300 extracts, and found 36 extracts (2.7%) which prolonged the survival of infected nematodes, and four (0.3%) of these extracts showed in vitro and in vivo anti-multidrug resistant P. aeruginosa activity. These results indicate that the whole-animal C. elegans multidrug-resistant bacterial model can be used to screen antibacterial compounds, and can also be useful for bioactive compounds which most likely cannot be identified in vitro.