Inhibition of Bacterial Quorum Sensing-Regulated Behaviors by Tremella fuciformis Extract

Quorum sensing (QS), or the control of gene expression in response to cell density, is used by both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria to regulate a variety of physiological functions. Increasing evidence implies that certain eukaryotes produce QS-inhibitory compounds. In this work, we tested...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current microbiology 2008-11, Vol.57 (5), p.418-422
Main Authors: Zhu, H, Sun, S. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal human relations
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology
Bacteria
Basidiomycota - metabolism
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biotechnology
Cell culture
Cell density
Chromobacterium - drug effects
Chromobacterium - physiology
Chromobacterium violaceum
Dimethyl sulfoxide
Eukaryotes
Filters
Filtration
Fruit bodies
Fruiting Bodies, Fungal - metabolism
Gene expression
Gram-positive bacteria
Indoles - metabolism
Infection
Infections
Life Sciences
Methanol
Microbiology
Pathogens
quorum sensing
Quorum Sensing - drug effects
Tremella fuciformis
Violacein
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Summary:Quorum sensing (QS), or the control of gene expression in response to cell density, is used by both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria to regulate a variety of physiological functions. Increasing evidence implies that certain eukaryotes produce QS-inhibitory compounds. In this work, we tested Tremella fuciformis for their ability to inhibit QS-regulated behaviors. T. fuciformis fruiting bodies were dried and extracted using 75% (v/v) aqueous methanol. The crude extract was redissolved in appropriate concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), sterilized by filtration through a 0.45-μm membrane filter and added to Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 cultures, which was used to monitor QS inhibition. Inhibitory activity was measured by quantifying violacein production using a microplate reader. The results have revealed that the DMSO-soluble compounds extracted from T. fuciformis could inhibit violacein production, a QS-regulated behavior in C. violaceum. The results suggest an attractive tool to control and handle detrimental infections caused by human, animal, and plant pathogens. Further studies are required to isolate specific substances from T. fuciformis extract acting as QS inhibitors.
ISSN:0343-8651
1432-0991
DOI:10.1007/s00284-008-9215-8