Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2025
Methods to Inhibit Bacterial Pyomelanin Production and Determine the Corresponding Increase in Sensitivity to Oxidative Stress
Published on: August 31, 2015
Pyrogallol impairs staphylococcal biofilm formation via induction of bacterial oxidative stress
Katharina H C Roese1, Christina Torlone1, Lauren A Cooper1
1School of Biological Sciences, University of New England, Biddeford, ME 04005, USA.
Aims:
To examine the effect of the phenolic compound pyrogallol on staphylococcal biofilm formation.
Methods And Results:
In crystal violet biofilm assays, pyrogallol-reduced biofilm formation in Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 35984, Staph. epidermidis NRRL-B41021, Staphylococcus aureus USA300, and Staph. aureus Newman, without significantly impairing bacterial viability. Pyrogallol-mediated impairment of biofilm formation was likely due to induction of bacterial oxidative stress, as its effect was greater in catalase-deficient versus WT Staph. aureus, and biofilm production was rescued by exogenous catalase. The effect of pyrogallol on staphylococcal biofilm formation mirrored that of the known oxidant hydrogen peroxide, which also reduced biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner.
Conclusions:
Pyrogallol reduces biofilm formation in S. aureus and Staph. epidermidis in a mechanism involving induction of bacterial oxidative stress.
