Disruption of bacterial

quorum sensing: strategy to

fight infections in
aquaculture
Rohmah Nasada Tuita 10412003
Firdha Rachmawati 10412009
Isnaini Kurnia Siwi
10412040

Aquaculture

one of the fastestgrowing food

producing industries

the sector has

increased at an
average rate of 9.2%
per year since 1970

Problem
Vibrio
spp.
Aeromonas spp.
Outbreaks

Conventional
Approach....
frequent use lead the rapid
development of (multiple)
resistance

Antibiotic

The new target: bacterial cell-to-cell

communication
Quorum sensing
a mechanism in which bacteria coordinate the

expression of certain genes in response to their

population density by producing, releasing and
detecting small signal molecules
Autoinducer as signal molecul
Vibrio harveyi :
1. Autoinducer 1 (AI-1) AHL (Acyl-Homoserine Lactone)
Used for intra spescies communication
2. Autoinducer 2 (AI-2) furonasyl borate diester
Used for interspecies communication, might be involved in
the detection of growth phase

Quorum sensing

Quorum sensing

Alternative Approach
Disruption of bacterial quorum
sensing

Inhibition of signal molecule

biosynthesis

Application of quorum sensing

antagonists
Chemical and enzymatic
inactivation of quorum sensing
molecules

Application of quorum sensing

antagonists
Delisea pulchra
halogenated
furanones
Antagonists for
AHL-mediated
quorum sensing

Antagonistic AHL
molecules
Synthetic AHLmediated
quorum sensing
antagonists

Antagonists for AHL-mediated

quorum sensing
1. Delisea pulchra halogenated furanones
Manefield et al. (2000) found that the
furanone inhibited extracellular toxin
production in a pathogenic V. harveyi strain.
inhibit swarming motility of Serratia
liquefaciens MG1

2. Antagonistic AHL
molecules

3. Synthetic AHL-mediated
quorum sensing antagonists

AHLs with an acyl chain

containing 10 carbons or more, a synthetic derivative of
were inhibitory and acted as
the D. pulchra halogenated
quorum sensing antagonists.
furanones, (5Z)-4-bromo-5 N-(3-oxododecanoyl)- l(bromomethylene)-2(5H)homoserine lactone
furanone, is the most active
Reducing serine protease
AHL antagonist mentioned
production by A. salmonicida
in literature thus far.
N-(3-oxotetradecanoyl)-l reduced accumulated
homoserine lactone
mortality in rainbow trout
Inhibit exoprotease production
infected with V. anguillarum
by A. hydrophila

(Rasch et al. 2004)

Inhibition of signal molecule

biosynthesis

Biosynthesis of signal molecule (AHL) in Gram-negative

bacteria

Inhibition of signal molecule

biosynthesis
Inhibition by analogous
substrates

S-adenosylmethionine
(substrate)

S-adenosylcysteine
(analogue)

Chemical inactivation of quorum

sensing molecules
Reaction between a 3-oxo

AHL and halogen

antimicrobials (HOX;
hypobromous or
hypochlorous acid):
two a-halogenation

reactions occur, yielding

2,2-dihalo-3-oxo AHL
the acyl chain is
hydrolised, yielding a
fatty acid and 2,2-dihaloN-ethanoyl-l-homoserine
lactone

Enzymatic inactivation and

biodegradation of quorum sensing
molecules

Most of bacterial lactonase is produced by Bacillus

spp. while bacterial acylase is produced by
Pseudomonads, Variovorax paradoxus and
Ralstonia

References
Cisar, J. S. and Tan, D. S. 2008. Small molecule inhibition

of microbial natural product biosynthesisan emerging

antibiotic strategy. Chem. Soc. Rev. 37: 1320-1329
Defoirdt, T., Boona, N., and Verstraetea, W. 2004.
Disruption of bacterial quorum sensing: an unexplored
strategy to fight infections in aquaculture. Aquaculture
240: 6988
Rasch, M., Buch, C., Austin, B., Slierendrecht, WJ. 2004.
An inhibitor of bacterial quorum sensing reduces
mortalities caused by vibriosis in rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum). Syst Appl Microbiol
27:350360