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Tryptophan interferes with the quorum sensing and cell surface hydrophobicity of Staphylococcus aureus: a promising approach to inhibit the biofilm development

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Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram-positive bacterium has been implicated in a plethora of human infections by virtue of its biofilm-forming ability. Inhibition in microbial biofilm formation has been found to be a promising approach towards compromising microbial pathogenesis. In this regard, various natural and synthetic molecules have been explored to attenuate microbial biofilm. In this study, the role of an amino acid, L-tryptophan was examined against the biofilm-forming ability of S. aureus. The compound did not execute any antimicrobial characteristics, instead, showed strong antibiofilm activity with the highest biofilm inhibition at a concentration of 50 µg/mL. Towards understanding the underlying mechanism of the same, efforts were given to examine whether tryptophan could inhibit biofilm formation by interfering with the quorum-sensing property of S. aureus. A molecular docking analysis revealed an efficient binding between the quorum-sensing protein, AgrA, and tryptophan. Moreover, the expression of the quorum-sensing gene (agrA) got significantly reduced under the influence of the test compound. These results indicated that tryptophan could interfere with the quorum-sensing property of the organism thereby inhibiting its biofilm formation. Further study revealed that tryptophan could also reduce the cell surface hydrophobicity of S. aureus by downregulating the expression of dltA. Moreover, the tested concentrations of tryptophan did not show any significant cytotoxicity. Hence, tryptophan could be recommended as a potential antibiofilm agent to manage the biofilm-associated infections caused by S. aureus.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article and its supplementary information file. The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ms. Sharmistha Das and Ms. Sudipta Chatterjee for a critical reading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microbial Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, The Neotia University, Sarisha, West Bengal, 743368, India

    Payel Paul, Poulomi Chakraborty, Ranojit K. Sarker, Ahana Chatterjee & Prosun Tribedi

  2. Department of Human Physiology, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Agartala, Tripura, 799022, India

    Debasish Maiti

  3. Department of Chemistry, NIT Sikkim, Ravangla Campus, Barfung Block, Ravangla, Sikkim, 737139, India

    Amlan Das

  4. Department of Microbiology, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, 700019, India

    Sukhendu Mandal

  5. Department of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Agartala, Tripura, 799022, India

    Surajit Bhattacharjee

  6. Guru Nanak Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 157/F Nilgunj Road, Panihati, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700114, India

    Debabrata Ghosh Dastidar

Authors
  1. Payel Paul
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  2. Poulomi Chakraborty
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  3. Ranojit K. Sarker
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  4. Ahana Chatterjee
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  6. Amlan Das
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  8. Surajit Bhattacharjee
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  9. Debabrata Ghosh Dastidar
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  10. Prosun Tribedi
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Contributions

PP, PC, RKS, AC, DM, AD and SM performed the experiments and wrote the manuscript. DGD, SB and PT conceived the idea, designed the experiments and edited the manuscript critically.

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Correspondence to Debabrata Ghosh Dastidar or Prosun Tribedi.

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Paul, P., Chakraborty, P., Sarker, R.K. et al. Tryptophan interferes with the quorum sensing and cell surface hydrophobicity of Staphylococcus aureus: a promising approach to inhibit the biofilm development. 3 Biotech 11, 376 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-021-02924-3

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