Highlighting the Potency of Biosurfactants Produced by Pseudomonas Strains as Anti-Legionella Agents

• Published in: BioMed research international 2018, Vol.2018 (2018), p.1-15
• Main Authors: Verdon, Julien, Depayras, Ségolène, Schlusselhuber, Margot, Corre, Marie-Hélène, Portier, Emilie, Loiseau, Clémence, Berjeaud, Jean-Marc
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - isolation & purification; Anti-Bacterial Agents - metabolism; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; Bacteria; Biofilms; Biosurfactants; Drinking water; Glycolipids - biosynthesis; Glycolipids - chemistry; Glycolipids - isolation & purification; Glycolipids - pharmacology; High-performance liquid chromatography; Humans; Legionella; Legionella pneumophila - growth & development; Legionella pneumophila - isolation & purification; Legionnaires' disease; Legionnaires' disease bacterium; Life Sciences; Lipopeptides; Lipopeptides - biosynthesis; Lipopeptides - chemistry; Lipopeptides - isolation & purification; Lipopeptides - pharmacology; Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Methylene blue; Microbiology and Parasitology; Pathogens; Peptides; Pseudomonas; Pseudomonas - chemistry; Pseudomonas - metabolism; Rhamnolipids; Strains (organisms); Surface-Active Agents - chemistry; Surface-Active Agents - isolation & purification; Surface-Active Agents - metabolism; Surface-Active Agents - pharmacology; Surfactants; Water Microbiology; Water treatment
• ISSN: 2314-6133; 2314-6141
• DOI: 10.1155/2018/8194368

Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease, is a waterborne bacterium mainly found in man-made water systems in close association with free-living amoebae and multispecies biofilms. Pseudomonas strains, originating from various environments including freshwater systems or isolated from hospitalized patients, were tested for their antagonistic activity towards L. pneumophila. A high amount of tested strains was thus found to be active. This antibacterial activity was correlated to the presence of tensioactive agents in culture supernatants. As Pseudomonas strains were known to produce biosurfactants, these compounds were specifically extracted and purified from active strains and further characterized using reverse-phase HPLC and mass spectrometry methods. Finally, all biosurfactants tested (lipopeptides and rhamnolipids) were found active and this activity was shown to be higher towards Legionella strains compared to various other bacteria. Therefore, described biosurfactants are potent anti-Legionella agents that could be used in the water treatment industry although tests are needed to evaluate how effective they would be under field conditions.