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A quorum sensing small volatile molecule promotes antibiotic tolerance in bacteria
Yok-Ai Que1, Ronen Hazan2, Benjamin Strobel1
1Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Plos One
|December 25, 2013
Summary
A small molecule, 2' Amino-acetophenone (2-AA), promotes antibiotic tolerance in bacteria by altering gene expression related to protein production. This mechanism, observed in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other pathogens, may be a general strategy for bacterial survival.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Bacterial Pathogenesis
Background:
- Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health threat.
- Persister cells, a dormant sub-population of bacteria, exhibit high tolerance to antibiotics.
- The mechanisms regulating persister cell formation and antibiotic tolerance are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of 2' Amino-acetophenone (2-AA) in promoting antibiotic tolerance.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which 2-AA mediates antibiotic tolerance.
- To assess the broader implications of 2-AA in antibiotic tolerance across different bacterial species.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism.
- Analyzed gene expression changes related to translation.
- Investigated the effect of 2-AA on persister cell formation in other pathogens like Acinetobacter baumannii.
Main Results:
- 2' Amino-acetophenone (2-AA) significantly promotes antibiotic tolerance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
- 2-AA induces persister cell accumulation by altering the expression of ribosomal protein genes and translation-related factors.
- 2-AA also promotes persister formation in Acinetobacter baumannii, suggesting a conserved mechanism.
Conclusions:
- 2-AA is a quorum-sensing molecule that enhances antibiotic tolerance by modulating bacterial translational capacity.
- This mechanism of antibiotic tolerance may be widespread among prokaryotes, particularly in polymicrobial infections.
- Targeting QS molecules like 2-AA could offer novel strategies to combat antibiotic resistance.
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