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Updated: Sep 23, 2026

Establishment of a High-throughput Setup for Screening Small Molecules That Modulate c-di-GMP Signaling in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Published on: June 30, 2016
Library screening for synthetic agonists and antagonists of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa autoinducer
Kristina M Smith1, Yigong Bu, Hiroaki Suga
1Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York, Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
Abstract:
The autoinducer (AI) that initiates the quorum sensing (QS) signaling cascade in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an acyl-homoserine lactone (acyl-HSL). We initiated a study of the requirements for binding of the AI to its protein effector LasR by synthesizing a library of analogs with the HSL moiety replaced with different amines and alcohols. We tested each compound for both agonist and antagonist activity using a QS-controlled reporter gene assay and found several new agonists and antagonists. A representative antagonist was further tested for its ability to inhibit virulence factors. This data progresses our understanding of the LasR-AI interaction toward the rational design of therapeutic inhibitors of QS.
