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Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Deferred Growth Inhibition Assay to Quantify the Effect of Bacteria-derived Antimicrobials on Competition
Published on: September 3, 2016
Non-lethal growth inhibition by arresting the starch utilization system of clinically relevant human isolates of
Anthony D Santilli1, Jordan T Russell2, Eric W Triplett2
1Department of Chemistry , Clemson University , Clemson , SC 29631 , USA .
Abstract:
We describe the inhibition of the starch utilization system (Sus) belonging to various strains of Bacteroides dorei in a non-lethal manner using the small molecule probe, acarbose. Concentrations of acarbose as low as 5 μM significantly impede the growth of B. dorei and increase the doubling time of cultures. The successful inhibition of this species of Bacteroides is relevant to several disease states including type I diabetes mellitus. This method continues to explore a new, potential route to intervene in illnesses associated with aberrant changes in the composition of the human gut microbiota through the strategic manipulation of its constituents.

