Lactonase-mediated inhibition of quorum sensing largely alters phenotypes, proteome, and antimicrobial activities in E264.

INTRODUCTION

is a study model for , a highly virulent pathogen, known to be the causative agent of melioidosis and a potential bioterrorism agent. These two bacteria use an (acyl-homoserine lactone) AHL-mediated quorum sensing (QS) system to regulate different behaviors including biofilm formation, secondary metabolite productions, and motility.

METHODS

Using an enzyme-based quorum quenching (QQ) strategy, with the lactonase Pox having the best activity on AHLs, we evaluated the importance of QS in by combining proteomic and phenotypic analyses.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that QS disruption largely affects overall bacterial behavior including motility, proteolytic activity, and antimicrobial molecule production. We further showed that QQ treatment drastically decreases bactericidal activity against two bacteria ( and ), while a spectacular increase in antifungal activity was observed against fungi and yeast (, and ).

DISCUSSION

This study provides evidence that QS is of prime interest when it comes to understanding the virulence of species and developing alternative treatments.