Abstract
Dental unit water line (DUWL) contamination by opportunistic pathogens has its significance in nosocomial infection of patients, health care workers, and life-threatening infections to immunocompromized persons. Recently, the quorum sensing (QS) system of DUWL isolates has been found to affect their biofilm-forming ability, making it an attractive target for antimicrobial therapy. In this study, the effect of two quorum-sensing inhibitory compounds (patulin; PAT, penicillic acid; PA) and EDTA on planktonic growth, AI-2 signalling and in vitro biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Achromobacter xylosoxidans and Achromobacter sp. was monitored. Vibrio harveyi BB170 bioassay and crystal violet staining methods were used to detect the AI-2 monitoring and biofilm formation in DUWL isolates, respectively. The V. harveyi BB170 bioassay failed to induce bioluminescence in A. xylosoxidans and Achromobacter sp., while P. aeruginosa showed AI-2 like activity suggesting the need of some pretreatments prior to bioassay. All strains were found to form biofilms within 72 h of incubation. The QSIs/EDTA combination have isolate-specific effects on biofilm formation and in some cases it stimulated biofilm formation as often as it was inhibited. However, detailed information about the anti-biofilm effect of these compounds is still lacking.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Singh R, Stine OC, Smith DL et al (2003) Microbial diversity of biofilms in dental unit water systems. Appl Environ Microbiol 69:3412–3420
Andrée ML, Ventre I, James NS (2004) Regulatory circuits and communication in Gram-negative bacteria. Nat Rev Microbiol 2:581–592
Stevenson B, Babb K (2002) LuxS-mediated quorum sensing in Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete. Infect Immun 70:4099–4105
Hentzer M, Givskov M (2003) Pharmacological inhibition of quorum sensing for the treatment of chronic bacterial infections. J Clin Investig 112:1300–1307
Rasmussen TB, Skindersoe ME, Bjarnsholt T et al (2005) Identity and effects of quorum-sensing inhibitors produced by Penicillium species. Microbiology 151:1325–1340
Liaqat I, Sabri AN (2008) Effect of biocides on biofilm bacteria from dental unit water lines. Curr Microbiol 56:619–624
Kaper JB, Sperandio V (2005) Bacterial cell-to-cell signaling in the gastrointestinal tract. Infect Immun 73:3197–3209
Surette MG, Bassler BL (1998) Quorum sensing in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95:7046–7050
Christensen GD, Simpson WA, Younger JJ et al (1985) Adherence of coagulase-negative staphylococci to plastic tissue culture plates: a quantitative model for the adherence of staphylococci to medical devices. J Clin Microbiol 22:996–1006
Duan K, Dammel C, Stein J et al (2003) Modulation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa gene expression by host microflora through interspecies communication. Mol Microbiol 50:1477–1491
Lyon WR, Madden JC, Levin JC et al (2001) Mutation of luxS affects growth and virulence factor expression in Streptococcus pyogenes. Mol Microbio 42:145–157
D’Argenio DA, Calfee MW, Rainey PB et al (2002) Autolysis and autoaggregation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa colony morphology mutants. J Bacteriol 184:6481–6489
Blumer C, Haas D (2000) Mechanism, regulation, and ecological role of bacterial cyanide biosynthesis. Arch Microbiol 173:170–177
Pessi G, Haas D (2000) Transcriptional control of the hydrogen cyanide biosynthetic genes hcnABC by the anaerobic regulator ANR and the quorum-sensing regulators LasR and RhlR in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Bacteriol 182:6940–6949
Gallagher LA, Manoil C (2001) Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 kills Caenorhabditis elegans by cyanide poisoning. J Bacteriol 183:6207–6214
Wang L, Hashimoto Y, Tsao CY et al (2005) Cyclic AMP (cAMP) and cAMP receptor protein influence both synthesis and uptake of extracellular autoinducer 2 in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol 187:2066–2076
Xavier KB, Bassler BL (2003) LuxS quorum sensing: more than just a numbers game. Curr Opin Microbiol 6:191–197
Rasmussen TB, Givskov M (2006) Quorum sensing inhibitors: a bargain of effects. Microbiology 152:895–904
Narisawa N, Furukawa S, Ogihara H et al (2005) Estimation of the biofilm formation of Escherichia coli K-12 by the cell number. J Biosci Bioeng 1:78–80
Donlan RM (2002) Biofilms: microbial life on surfaces. Emerg Infect Dis 8:881–890
O’Toole GA, Kolter R (1998) Flagellar and twitching motility are necessary for Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm development. Mol Microbiol 30:295–304
Rasch M, Rasmussen TB, Andersen JB et al (2007) Well-known quorum sensing inhibitors do not affect bacterial quorum sensing-regulated bean sprout spoilage. J Appl Microbiol 102:826–837
Azeredo J, Lazarova V, Oliveira R (1999) Methods to extract the exopolymeric matrix from biofilms: a comparative study. Water Sci Tech 39:243–250
Bjarnsholt T, Jensen PO, Burmolle M et al (2005) Pseudomonas aeruginosa tolerance to tobramycin, hydrogen peroxide and polymorphonuclear leukocytes is quorum-sensing dependent. Microbiology 151:373–383
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liaqat, I., Bachmann, R.T., Sabri, A.N. et al. Isolate-Specific Effects of Patulin, Penicillic Acid and EDTA on Biofilm Formation and Growth of Dental Unit Water Line Biofilm Isolates. Curr Microbiol 61, 148–156 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-010-9591-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-010-9591-8