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Updated: May 17, 2026

Synthesis and Assay of Vibrio Quorum Sensing Inhibitors
Published on: May 31, 2024
Structure-function analysis of the C-3 position in analogues of microbial behavioural modulators HHQ and PQS
F Jerry Reen1, Sarah L Clarke, Claire Legendre
1BIOMERIT Research Centre, Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, Ireland.
Abstract:
2-Heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone (PQS) and its precursor 2-heptyl-4-quinolone (HHQ) are key signalling molecules of the important nosocomial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We have recently reported an interkingdom dimension to these molecules, influencing key virulence traits in a broad spectrum of microbial species and in the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. For the first time, targeted chemical derivatisation of the C-3 position was undertaken to investigate the structural and molecular properties underpinning the biological activity of these compounds in P. aeruginosa, and using Bacillus subtilis as a suitable model system for investigating modulation of interspecies behaviour.
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