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Gram-Positive Marine Bacteria as a Potential Resource for the Discovery of Quorum Sensing Inhibitors

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Abstract

Inhibitors of bacterial quorum sensing have been proposed as potentially novel therapeutics for the treatment of certain bacterial diseases. We recently reported a marine Halobacillus salinus isolate that secretes secondary metabolites capable of quenching quorum sensing phenotypes in several Gram-negative reporter strains. To investigate how widespread the production of such compounds may be in the marine bacterial environment, 332 Gram-positive isolates from diverse habitats were tested for their ability to interfere with Vibrio harveyi bioluminescence, a cell signaling-regulated phenotype. Rapid assay methods were employed where environmental isolates were propagated alongside the reporter strain. “Actives” were defined as bacteria that interfered with bioluminescence without visible cell-killing effects (antibiotic activity). A total of 49 bacterial isolates interfered with bioluminescence production in the assays. Metabolite extracts were generated from cultures of the active isolates, and 28 reproduced the bioluminescence inhibition against V. harveyi. Of those 28, five extracts additionally inhibited violacein production by Chromobacterium violaceum. Chemical investigations revealed that phenethylamides and a cyclic dipeptide are two types of secondary metabolites responsible for the observed activities. The active bacterial isolates belonged primarily to either the genus Bacillus or Halobacillus. The results suggest that Gram-positive marine bacteria are worthy of further investigation for the discovery of quorum sensing antagonists.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NOAA Grant NA04OAR4600193 and NSF grant MCB 04538743 to D. R. We thank Dr. Richard A. Long (University of South Carolina) for the use of the bacterial isolates from microbial mats, and Dr. John King (University of Rhode Island) for access to the Ninigret Pond sediment cores.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

    Margaret E. Teasdale, Kellye A. Donovan, Stephanie R. Forschner-Dancause & David C. Rowley

  2. Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island, 53 Fogarty Hall, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

    David C. Rowley

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  1. Margaret E. Teasdale
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  2. Kellye A. Donovan
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  3. Stephanie R. Forschner-Dancause
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  4. David C. Rowley
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Correspondence to David C. Rowley.

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Teasdale, M.E., Donovan, K.A., Forschner-Dancause, S.R. et al. Gram-Positive Marine Bacteria as a Potential Resource for the Discovery of Quorum Sensing Inhibitors. Mar Biotechnol 13, 722–732 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-010-9334-7

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