Quorum Sensing Disruption in Vibrio harveyi Bacteria by Clay Materials

This work describes the use of clay minerals as catalysts for the degradation of quorum sensing molecule N-(3-oxooctanoyl)-dl-homoserine lactone. Certain clay minerals as a result of their surface properties and porosity can catalytically degrade the quorum sensing molecule into smaller fragments. The disruption of quorum sensing by clay in a growing Gram-negative Vibrio harveyi bacteria culture was also studied by monitoring luminescence and population density of the bacteria, wherein quenching of bacterial quorum sensing activity was observed by means of luminescence reduction. The results of this study show that food-grade clays can be used as biocatalysts in disrupting bacterial activity in various media.