Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Quorum Sensing Inhibition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 by Antagonistic Compound Phenylacetic Acid

  • Published:
Current Microbiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, quorum sensing (QS) autoinducer known as acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) acts as a key regulator in the expression of pathogenic characters. In this work, the efficiency of phenylacetic acid (PAA) in reducing the production of AHL-dependent factors in P. aeruginosa PAO1 was studied. PAA at a concentration of 200 μg ml−1 displayed significant reduction in QS-dependent pyocyanin, exopolysaccharide, and protease and elastase production in PAO1. In swimming inhibition assay, PAA-treated PAO1 cells exhibited poor motility in swimming agar plate. In in vivo analysis, PAO1-preinfected Caenorhabditis elegans showed enhanced survival when treated with PAA. PAA at the QS inhibitory concentration showed no growth inhibitory activity on PAO1. Results of the present study revealed the potential of PAA as antipathogenic compound to prevent QS-dependent pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adonizio A, Kong KF, Mathee K (2008) Inhibition of quorum sensing-controlled virulence factor production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by South Florida plant extracts. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 52:198–203

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Atkinson DC, Leach EC (1976) Anti-inflammatory and related properties of 2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenylacetic acid (fenclofenac). Agents Actions 6:657–666

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bjarnsholt T, Givskov M (2007) Quorum-sensing blockade as a strategy for enhancing host defences against bacterial pathogens. Phil Trans R Soc B 362:1213–1222

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Chandel AK, Rao LV, Narasu ML, Singh OV (2008) The realm of penicillin G acylase in β-lactam antibiotics. Enzyme Microb Tech 42:199–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (2006) Methods for dilution antimicrobial susceptibility tests for bacteria that grow aerobically; approved standard, 7th edn. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute document M7-A7. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, Wayne, PA

  6. de Kievit TR (2009) Quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Environ Microbiol 11:279–288

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Essar DW, Eberly L, Hadero A, Crawford IP (1990) Identification and characterization of genes for a second anthranilate synthase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: interchangeability of the two anthranilate synthases and evolutionary implications. J Bacteriol 172:884–900

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Favre-Bonte S, Kohler T, Delden CV (2003) Biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: role of the C4-HSL cell-to-cell signal and inhibition by azithromycin. J Antimicrob Chemother 52:598–604

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Fothergill JL, Panagea S, Hart CA, Walshaw MJ, Pitt TL, Winstanley C (2007) Widespread pyocyanin over-production among isolates of a cystic fibrosis epidemic strain. BMC Microbiol 7:45

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Fuqua WC, Winans SC, Greenberg EP (1994) Quorum sensing in bacteria: the LuxR-LuxI family of cell density responsive transcriptional regulators. J Bacteriol 176:269–275

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Fuqua C, Parsek MR, Greenberg EP (2001) Regulation of gene expression by cell-to-cell communication: acyl-homoserine lactone quorum sensing. Annu Rev Genet 35:439–468

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Gallagher LA, Manoil C (2001) Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 kills Caenorhabditis elegans by cyanide poisoning. J Bacteriol 183:6207–6214

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hwang BK, Lim SW, Kim BS, Lee JY, Moon SS (2001) Isolation and in vivo and in vitro antifungal activity of phenylacetic acid and sodium phenylacetate from Streptomyces humidus. Appl Environ Microbiol 67:3739–3745

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kessler E, Safrin M, Olson JC, Ohman DE (1993) Secreted LasA of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a staphylolytic protease. J Biol Chem 268:7503–7508

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Kohler T, Curty LK, Barja F, Delden CV, Pechere JC (2000) Swarming of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is dependent on cell-to-cell signalling and requires flagella and pili. J Bacteriol 182:5990–5996

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Moy T, Ball I, Anklesaria AR, Casadei Z, Lewis GK, Ausubel FM (2006) Identification of novel antimicrobials using a live-animal infection model. Proc Natl Acad Sci 103:10414–10419

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Musthafa KS, Ravi AV, Annapoorani A, Packiavathy ISV, Pandian SK (2010) Evaluation of anti-quorum-sensing activity of edible plants and fruits through inhibition of the N-acyl homoserine lactone system in Chromobacterium violaceum and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Chemotherapy 56:333–339

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Musthafa KS, Saroja V, Pandian SK, Ravi AV (2011) Antipathogenic potential of marine Bacillus sp. SS4 on N-acyl homoserine lactone mediated virulence factors production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1). J Biosci 36:55–67

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Nahar L, Russell WR, Middleton M, Shoeb M, Sarker SD (2005) Antioxidant phenylacetic acid derivatives from the seeds of Ilex aquifolium. Acta Pharm 55:187–193

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Nalca Y, Jansch L, Bredenbruch F, Robert GR, Buer J, Haussler S (2006) Quorum sensing antagonistic activities of azithromycin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1: a global approach. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 50:1680–1688

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Ohman DE, Cryz SJ, Iglewski BH (1980) Isolation and characterization of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 mutant that produces altered elastase. J Bacteriol 142:836–842

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Packiavathy IASV, Agilandeswari P, Musthafa KS, Pandian SK, Ravi AV (2012) Antibiofilm and quorum sensing inhibitory potential of Cuminum cyminum and its secondary metabolite methyl eugenol against gram negative bacterial pathogens. Food Res Int 45:85–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Pesci EC, Pearson JP, Seed PC, Iglewski BH (1997) Regulation of las and rhl quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Bacteriol 179:3127–3132

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Rahme LG, Stevens EJ, Wolfort SF, Shao J, Tompkins RG, Ausubel FM (1995) Common virulence factors for bacterial pathogenicity in plants and animals. Science 268:1899–1902

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Sajid I, Shaaban KA, Hasnain S (2011) Identification, isolation and optimization of antifungal metabolites from the Streptomyces malachitofuscus CTF9. Braz J Microbiol 42:592–604

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Sivamaruthi BS, Ganguli A, Kumar M, Bhaviya S, Pandian SK, Balamurugan K (2011) Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for studying Cronobacter sakazakii ATCC BAA-894 pathogenesis. J Basic Microbiol 51:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Tan MW, Miklos SM, Ausubel FM (1999) Killing of Caenorhabditis elegans by Pseudomonas aeruginosa used to model mammalian bacterial pathogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci 96:715–720

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Vu B, Chen M, Crawford RJ, Ivanova EP (2009) Bacterial extra cellular polysaccharides involved in biofilm formation. Molecules 14:2535–2554

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Williams P, Winzer K, Chan WC, Camara M (2007) Look who’s talking: communication and quorum sensing in the bacterial world. Phil Trans R Soc B 362:1119–1134

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Wu H, Lee B, Yang L, Wang H (2011) Effects of ginseng on Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility and biofilm formation. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol 62:49–56

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Yang L, Rybtke MT, Jakobsen TH, Hentzer M, Bjarnsholt T, Givskov M, Nielsen TT (2009) Computer-aided identification of recognized drugs as Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum-sensing inhibitors. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 53:2432–2443

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the opportunity to use the computational and bioinformatics facility provided by the Alagappa University Bioinformatics Infrastructure Facility (funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India; Grant No. BT/BI/25/001/2006).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, 630 003, Tamil Nadu, India

    Khadar Syed Musthafa, Bhagavathi Sundaram Sivamaruthi, Shunmugiah Karutha Pandian & Arumugam Veera Ravi

Authors
  1. Khadar Syed Musthafa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bhagavathi Sundaram Sivamaruthi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shunmugiah Karutha Pandian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Arumugam Veera Ravi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arumugam Veera Ravi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Musthafa, K.S., Sivamaruthi, B.S., Pandian, S.K. et al. Quorum Sensing Inhibition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 by Antagonistic Compound Phenylacetic Acid. Curr Microbiol 65, 475–480 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0181-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0181-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation