N-acetyl glucosamine, the monomer of chitin, is an abundant source of carbon and nitrogen in nature as it is the main component and breakdown product of many structural polymers. Some bacteria use N-acyl-L-homoserine lactone (AHL) mediated quorum sensing (QS) to regulate chitinase production in order to catalyze the cleavage of chitin polymers into water soluble N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG) mon...

BACKGROUND Bacteria use N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) molecules to regulate the expression of genes in a density-dependent manner. Several biosensors have been developed and engineered to detect the presence of all types of AHLs. RESULTS In this study, we describe the usefulness of a traI-luxCDABE-based biosensor to quickly detect AHLs from previously characterized mutants of Burkholderia c...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous bacterium that causes opportunistic infections in a range of host tissues and organs. Infections by P. aeruginosa are difficult to treat and hence there is interest in the development of effective therapeutics. One of the key mechanisms that P. aeruginosa uses to control the expression of many virulence factors is the N-acylated homoserine lactone (AHL) re...

Burkholderia cenocepacia causes chronic and life-threatening respiratory infections in immunocompromized people. The B. cenocepacia N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-dependent quorum sensing system relies on the production of AHLs by the synthases CepI and CciI while CepR, CciR and CepR2 control expression of many genes important for pathogenesis. Downstream from, and co-transcribed with cepI, li...

Bacterial intraspecies and interspecies communication in the rhizosphere is mediated by diffusible signal molecules. Many Gram-negative bacteria use N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) as autoinducers in the quorum sensing response. While bacterial signalling is well described, the fate of AHLs in contact with plants is much less known. Thus, adsorption, uptake and translocation of N-hexanoyl- (C...

Many members of the genus Chromobacterium produce violacein, a characteristic purple pigment which is induced by small diffusible N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHL) quorum-sensing molecules. In this study, the production of AHL of the non-pigmented C. aquaticum CC-SEYA-1(T) and the pigmented C. subtsugae PRAA4-1(T) were determined by using a CV026 biosensor assay. The profile of AHL was identifie...

This study aimed to identify N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) produced by Hafnia alvei H4, which was isolated from spoiled instant sea cucumber, and to investigate the effect of AHLs on biofilm formation. Two biosensor strains, Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens KYC55, were used to detect the quorum sensing (QS) activity of H. alvei H4 and to confirm the existence of AH...

Microbial virulence and their resistance to multiple drugs have obliged researchers to look for novel drug targets. Virulence of pathogenic microbes is regulated by signal molecules such as acylated homoserine lactone (AHL) produced during a cell density dependent phenomenon of quorum sensing (QS). In contrast, certain microbes produce AHL-lactonases and -acylases to degrade QS signals, also te...