A novel compound from the marine bacterium Bacillus pumilus S6-15 inhibits biofilm formation in Gram-positive and Gram-negative species

Abstract

Biofilm formation is a critical problem in nosocomial infections and in the aquaculture industries and biofilms show high resistance to antibiotics. The aim of the present study was to reveal a novel anti-biofilm compound from marine bacteria against antibiotic resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative biofilms. The bacterial extract (50 μg ml−1) of S6-01 (Bacillus indicus = MTCC 5559) showed 80–90% biofilm inhibition against Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Proteus mirabilis and S6-15 (Bacillus pumilus = MTCC 5560) showed 80–95% biofilm inhibition against all the 10 tested organisms. Furthermore, they also reduced the hydrophobicity index and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production. Structural elucidation of the active principle in S6-15 using GC-MS, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectral data revealed it to be 4-phenylbutanoic acid. This is the first report of 4-phenylbutanoic acid as a natural product. The purified compound (10–15 μg ml−1) showed potential activity against a wide range of biofilms. This study for the first time, reports a novel anti-biofilm compound from a marine bacterium with wide application in medicine and the aquaculture industry.