Abstract
Quorum sensing (QS) is a phenomenon of intercellular communication discovered mainly in bacteria. A QS system consisting of QS signal molecules and regulatory protein components could control physiological behaviors and virulence gene expression of bacterial pathogens. Therefore, QS inhibition could be a novel strategy to combat pathogens and related diseases. QS inhibitors (QSIs), mainly categorized into small chemical molecules and quorum quenching enzymes, could be extracted from diverse sources in marine environment and terrestrial environment. With the focus on the exploitation of marine resources in recent years, more and more QSIs from the marine environment have been investigated. In this article, we present a comprehensive review of QSIs from marine bacteria. Firstly, screening work of marine bacteria with potential QSIs was concluded and these marine bacteria were classified. Afterwards, two categories of marine bacteria-derived QSIs were summarized from the aspects of sources, structures, QS inhibition mechanisms, environmental tolerance, effects/applications, etc. Next, structural modification of natural small molecule QSIs for future drug development was discussed. Finally, potential applications of QSIs from marine bacteria in human healthcare, aquaculture, crop cultivation, etc. were elucidated, indicating promising and extensive application perspectives of QS disruption as a novel antimicrobial strategy.
Highlights
Quorum sensing (QS) has been recognized as a widespread phenomenon in bacteria
Metagenomic sequencing was used for rapid and large screening of QS-inhibitory bacteria in recent years, which can unveil the frequency of quorum quenching enzyme sequences in marine bacteria [29]
Marine bacteria might have the ability to interfere with acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs)-mediated QS, and have the ability to interfering with AI-2/QS systems [39,45], indicating a wide application of QS-inhibitory marine bacteria against pathogens with both AHL and AI-2 mediated QS systems
Summary
Quorum sensing (QS) has been recognized as a widespread phenomenon in bacteria. To date, QS systems have been elucidated in detail in many different bacterial species, especially in Vibrio. Afterwards, two types of marine bacteria-derived QSIs—small molecule QSIs and quorum quenching enzymes—were elucidated respectively from the aspects of sources, structures, QS inhibition mechanisms, environmental tolerance, effects/applications, etc. Metagenomic sequencing was used for rapid and large screening of QS-inhibitory bacteria in recent years, which can unveil the frequency of quorum quenching enzyme sequences in marine bacteria [29]. This technique avoids the defects of biosensor reporter strains, which could only detect the QS inhibition activity of cultivable bacteria.
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