Extracellular protease in Actinomycetes culture supernatants inhibits and detaches Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation

• Published in: Biotechnology letters 2012-04, Vol.34 (4), p.655-661
• Main Authors: Park, Joo-Hyeon, Lee, Jin-Hyung, Kim, Chang-Jin, Lee, Jae-Chan, Cho, Moo Hwan, Lee, Jintae
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actinobacteria - enzymology; Actinomycetales; Actinomycetes; Anti-Bacterial Agents - metabolism; antibiotic resistance; Antimicrobial agents; Bacteria; Bacterial Adhesion - drug effects; Bioengineering; biofilm; Biofilms; Biofilms - drug effects; Biofilms - growth & development; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Cellular biology; Culture; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Inhibitors; Medical equipment; pathogens; Peptide Hydrolases - metabolism; Protease; Proteases; proteinases; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - physiology; Staphylococcus infections; Strain
• ISSN: 0141-5492; 1573-6776
• DOI: 10.1007/s10529-011-0825-z

Bacterial biofilms are associated with chronic infections due to their resistance to antimicrobial agents. Staphylococcus aureus is a versatile human pathogen and can form biofilms on human tissues and diverse medical devices. To identify novel biofilm inhibitors of S. aureus, the supernatants from a library of 458 Actinomycetes strains were screened. The culture supernatants (1% v/v) of more than 10 Actinomycetes strains inhibited S. aureus biofilm formation by more than 80% without affecting the growth. The culture supernatants of these biofilm-reducing Actinomycetes strains contained a protease (equivalent to 0.1 μg proteinase K ml−1), which both inhibited S. aureus biofilm formation and detached pre-existing S. aureus biofilms. This study suggests that protease treatment could be a feasible tool to reduce and eradicate S. aureus biofilms.