Targeting N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) on the quorum quenching AiiA protein to eradicate biofilm formation in Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Abstract

AiiA can be targeted to quench N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) quorum sensing signaling molecules. In this paper, we extracted and purified AiiA protein by constructing recombinant engineering bacteria to analyze the effect of AiiA on the formation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus biofilm. The results suggest that AiiA has a particular potential in inhibiting the formation of biofilms and extracellular polymers. The ability of AiiA to inhibit biofilm increased and then decreased, with the lowest biofilm decomposition concentration of 8 μg/mL and the optimal inhibitor concentration of 85 μg/mL (86.9% biofilm inhibition). LC-MS results showed that when the concentration of C4-HSL in Vibrio parahaemolyticus ATCC33847 biofilm exceeded 3.70 μg/L, the content of quorum sensing signaling molecules reached a threshold and began to activate LuxR protein to regulate the expression of related genes. These results provide relevant experimental guidance for the clinical treatment of biofilm infections and the development of novel QS inhibitors.

Keywords

• Vibrio parahaemolyticus
• biofilm
• AiiA
• quorum sensing
• LC-MS