Abstract
Bacterial biofilms are surface-associated multicellular communities that are highly resistant to removal. Scheffler et al. discovered that Pseudomonas aeruginosa secretes a small molecule that inhibits other P. aeruginosa cells from adsorbing to surfaces by interfering with type IV pili dynamics. The inhibition of cell adsorption could present a method to prevent biofilm formation on sensitive surfaces in hospitals and industry.
Highlights
Many bacteria, including P. aeruginosa, use secondary metabolites to affect their population dynamics, including triggering the formation of biofilms and initiating their subsequent dispersal, inducing the production of virulence factors, and interfering with the growth of other competing species
The structural similarity of MHQ with other alkyl quinolones implicated in quorum sensing, such as 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline (HHQ) and 2-heptyl-3,4dihydroxyquinoline (PQS), led the authors to consider that the pqsABCDE operon, responsible for quinolone synthesis, could be responsible for synthesis of MHQ as well (6)
Analysis of culture media harvested from a P. aeruginosa strain lacking this operon showed the absence of MHQ production, demonstrating that these genes are required for MHQ synthesis
Summary
Many bacteria, including P. aeruginosa, use secondary metabolites to affect their population dynamics, including triggering the formation of biofilms and initiating their subsequent dispersal, inducing the production of virulence factors, and interfering with the growth of other competing species. Activity of P. aeruginosa cell-free culture media harvested at different growth phases. They discovered that media harvested from stationary-phase bacterial cultures could robustly disperse surface-attached P. aeruginosa.
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