• Journal of Microbiology
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• 제43권spc1호
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• pp.101-109
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• 2005

To gain maximal benefit in a competitive environment, single-celled bacteria have adopted a community genetic regulatory mechanism, known as quorum sensing (QS). Many bacteria use QS signaling systems to synchronize target gene expression and coordinate biological activities among a local population. N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) are one family of the well-characterized QS signals in Gram-negative bacteria, which regulate a range of important biological functions, including virulence and biofilm formation. Several groups of AHL-degradation enzymes have recently been identified in a range of living organisms, including bacteria and eukaryotes. Expression of these enzymes in AHL-dependent pathogens and transgenic plants efficiently quenches the microbial QS signaling and blocks pathogenic infections. Discovery of these novel quorum quenching enzymes has not only provided a promising means to control bacterial infections, but also presents new challenges to investigate their roles in host organisms and their potential impacts on ecosystems.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.83-91
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• 2012

본 총설은 N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)에 기반한 quorum sensing(QS)을 비롯한 다양한 QS 시스템 및 생물막 형성과의 관련성에 대한 연구 동향을 정리하였다. 또한 anti-QS으로서 quorum quenching 전략을 이용한 생물막 억제 연구 동향에 대해 중점적으로 서술하였다. 세균의 독특한 신호전달 체계인 QS는 AHL과 같은 특정한 신호분자의 농도에 의해 세균의 집단적 행동 양식이 결정되는 세포밀도-의존성 유전자 발현 조절 메커니즘이다. QS 시스템은 미생물의 부착 및 생물막 형성에 있어 중요한 역할을 한다. AI-1이나 AI-2에 의한 QS는 생물막 형성 과정에 필요한 세포외 다당류, 단백질, 세포 외 DNA 등 주요한 구성 성분 등의 생산뿐만 아니라, 세균의 운동성 조절, 부착, 생물막 해체 과정까지도 조절하는 기능을 한다. 일부 세균의 경우 QS시스템 이외에도 second messenger로 알려진 c-di-GMP에 의한 signaling이 QS와 서로 연결되어 생물막 형성이나 병독성과 같은 타깃들을 함께 조절한다. 생물막은 병원성 세균에 의한 감염 시 여러 가지 병독성 가운데 가장 중요한 요소 중 하나이기 때문에, 생물막 형성을 조절하는 QS를 차단하기 위한 다양한 anti-quorum sensing 전략이 연구되고 있다. Anti-QS 접근 방식은 의학적 이용뿐만 아니라 물에 노출되어있는 MBR을 비롯한 많은 산업적 장치 등에서 생물막 형성으로 인한 손상 및 오염을 방지하기 위해 쓰일 수 있다. Anti-QS 전략 중 신호분자인 AHL을 무력화 시키는 quorum quenching 효소(AHL-lactonase, AHL-acylase, oxidoreductas)를 이용하여 생물막 형성을 억제할 수 있으며, 막을 이용한 수처리 공정에서 막에 발생하는 biofouling을 완화시킬 수 있는 새로운 anti-fouling 처리 기술로서 이러한 QQ 효소의적용 가능성을 보여 주고 있다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제18권9호
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• pp.1518-1521
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• 2008

Bacteria sense their population density and coordinate the expression of target genes, including virulence factors in Gram-negative bacteria, by the N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs)-dependent quorum sensing (QS) mechanism. In contrast, several soil bacteria are able to interfere with QS by enzymatic degradation of AHLs, referred to as quorum quenching. A potent AHL-degrading enzyme, AiiA, from Bacillus thuringiensis has been reported to effectively attenuate the virulence of bacteria by quorum quenching. However, little is known about the role of AiiA in B. thuringiensis itself. In the present study, an aiiA-defective mutant was generated to investigate the role of AHA in rhizosphere competence in the root system of pepper. The aiiA mutant showed no detectable AHL￢-egrading activity and was less effective for suppression of soft-rot symptom caused by Erwinia carotovora on the potato slice. On the pepper root, the survival rate of the aiiA mutant significantly decreased over time compared with that of wild type. Interestingly, viable cell count analysis revealed that the bacterial number and composition of E. carotovora were not different between treatments of wild type and the aiiA mutant. These results provide evidence that AHA can play an important role in rhizosphere competentce of B. thuringiensis and bacterial quorum quenching to Gram-negative bacteria without changing bacterial number or composition.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제26권12호
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• pp.1487-1497
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• 2016

정족수 인식 체계라 불리는 세균들의 세포간 의사교환 전략은 다양한 유전자의 발현조절을 통해, 생물막 성숙, 세포 외 고분자물질의 생산, 병원성 발현 및 항생제 생산 등과 같은 다양한 표현형을 조절하는 세균의 다세포성 행동 양식을 제어한다. 다수의 연구에 의하면 많은 종류의 그람 (Gram)음성 세균들이 정족수 인식체계에 필요한 신호전달 물질로 acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs)를 사용하고 있으며, 이들은 생물막 형성에 중요한 인자로 작용함을 시사하였다. 이러한 정족수 인식체계에 의한 생물막의 형성은 물이 존재하는 모든 표면환경에서 불필요한 바오매스 축적이라는 심각한 기술적, 경제적 문제를 초래하고 있다. 최근 정족수 인체 체계를 교란하는 다수의 물질들이 다양한 미생물로부터 발견되어, 그들의 정족수 인식 체계와 관련된 주요 기능과 기작들이 밝혀지고 있다. 이러한 정족수 제어 물질들은 최근 다양한 산업에서 발생하는 생물 부착현상들을 제어할 수 있는, 환경 친화적이며 세균의 항생제 다재 내성을 완화 시킬 수 있는 새로운 방법으로 대두되고 있다. 따라서 본 논문은 세균의 정족수 인식 체계와 관련된 최근 정보, 정족수 인식 신호를 제어할 수 있는 정족수 제어 효소와 이러한 기술을 이용한 생물 부착 저해 방법 등을 논의하고자 한다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제24권11호
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• pp.1574-1582
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• 2014

Bacteria recognize changes in their population density by sensing the concentration of signal molecules, N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs). AHL-mediated quorum sensing (QS) plays a key role in biofilm formation, so the interference of QS, referred to as quorum quenching (QQ), has received a great deal of attention. A QQ strategy can be applied to membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for advanced wastewater treatment to control biofouling. To isolate QQ bacteria that can inhibit biofilm formation, we isolated diverse AHL-degrading bacteria from a laboratory-scale MBR and sludge from real wastewater treatment plants. A total of 225 AHL-degrading bacteria were isolated from the sludge sample by enrichment culture. Afipia sp., Acinetobacter sp. and Streptococcus sp. strains produced the intracellular QQ enzyme, whereas Pseudomonas sp., Micrococcus sp. and Staphylococcus sp. produced the extracellular QQ enzyme. In case of Microbacterium sp. and Rhodococcus sp., AHL-degrading activities were detected in the whole-cell assay and Rhodococcus sp. showed AHL-degrading activity in cell-free lysate as well. There has been no report for AHL-degrading capability in the case of Streptococcus sp. and Afipia sp. strains. Finally, inhibition of biofilm formation by isolated QQ bacteria or enzymes was observed on glass slides and 96-well microtiter plates using crystal violet staining. QQ strains or enzymes not only inhibited initial biofilm development but also reduced established biofilms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.97-105
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• 2014

Quorum quenching (QQ) with a microbial vessel has recently been reported as an economically feasible biofouling control platform in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for wastewater treatment. In this study, a quorum quenching MBR with a ceramic microbial vessel (CMV) was designed to overcome the extremely low F/M ratio inside a microbial vessel. The CMV was prepared with a monolithic ceramic microporous membrane and AHL-degrading QQ bacteria, Pseudomonas sp. 1A1. The "inner flow feeding mode" was introduced, under which fresh feed was supplied to the MBR only through the center lumen in the CMV. The inner flow feeding mode facilitated nutrient transport to QQ bacteria in the CMV and thus enabled relatively long-term maintenance of cell viability. The quorum quenching effect of the CMV on controlling membrane biofouling in the MBR was more pronounced with the inner flow feeding mode, which was identified by the slower increase in the transmembrane pressure as well as by the visual observation of a biocake that formed on the used membrane surface. In the QQ MBR with the CMV, the concentrations of extracellular polymeric substances were substantially decreased in the biocake on the membrane surface compared with those in the conventional MBR. The CMV also showed its potential with effective biofouling control over long-term operation of the QQ MBR.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.543-558
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• 2019

In comparison to alternative advanced wastewater treatment technologies, the main problem associated with membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology, which has become prominent in recent years, is biofouling. Within these systems, biofouling is typically the result of a biofilm layer resulting from bacterial gathering. One biological system that can be employed to interrupt the process of bacterial gathering is called 'Quorum Quenching (QQ)'. Existing QQ applications can be classified using three main types: 1) bacterial/whole-cell applications, 2) direct enzyme applications, and 3) natural sourced compounds. The most common and widely recognized applications for membrane fouling control during MBR operation are bacterial and direct enzyme applications. The purpose of this review was to identify and assess biofilm formation mechanism and results, the suggestion of the QQ concept and its potential to control biofilm formation, and the means by which these QQ applications can be applied within the MBR and present QQ MBR studies.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권10호
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• pp.1746-1754
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• 2016

Recently, spherical beads entrapping quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria have been reported as effective moving QQ-media for biofouling control in MBRs for wastewater treatment owing to their combined effects of biological (i.e., quorum quenching) and physical washing. Taking into account both the mass transfer of signal molecules through the QQ-medium and collision efficiencies of the QQ-medium against the filtration membranes in a bioreactor, a cylindrical medium (QQ-cylinder) was developed as a new shape of moving QQ-medium. The QQ-cylinders were compared with previous QQ-beads in terms of the QQ activity and the physical washing effect under identical loading volumes of each medium in batch tests. It was found that the QQ activity of a QQ-medium was highly dependent on its specific surface area, regardless of the shape of the medium. In contrast, the physical washing effect of a QQ-medium was greatly affected by its geometric structure. The enhanced anti-biofouling property of the QQ-cylinders relative to QQ-beads was confirmed in a continuous laboratory-scale MBR with a flat-sheet membrane module.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.263-267
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• 2021

Periodontal disease is primarily associated with bacterial infection such as dental plaque. Dental plaque, an oral biofilm harboring a complex microbial community, can cause various inflammatory reactions in periodontal tissue. In many cases, the local bacterial invasion and host-mediated immune responses lead to severe alveolar bone destruction. To date, plaque control, non-surgical, and surgical interventions have been the conventional periodontal treatment modalities. Although adjuvant therapies including antibiotics or supplements have accompanied these procedures, their usage has been limited by antibiotic resistance, as well as their partial effectiveness. Therefore, new strategies are needed to control local inflammation in the periodontium and host immune responses. In recent years, target molecules that modulate microbial signaling mechanisms, host inflammatory substances, and bone immune responses have received considerable attention by researchers. In this review, we introduce three approaches that suggest a way forward for the development of new treatments for periodontal disease; (1) quorum quenching using quorum sensing inhibitors, (2) inflammasome targeting, and (3) use of FDA-approved anabolic agents, including Teriparatide and sclerostin antibody.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권12호
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• pp.2159-2170
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• 2016

Many plant-pathogenic bacteria are dependent on quorum sensing (QS) to evoke disease. In this study, the population of QS and quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria was analyzed in a consecutive monoculture system of Pseudostellaria heterophylla. The isolated QS strains were identified as Serratia marcescens with SwrIR-type QS system and exhibited a significant increase over the years of monoculture. Only one QQ strain was isolated from newly planted soil sample and was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis, which secreted lactonase to degrade QS signal molecules. Inoculation of S. marcescens to P. heterophylla root could rapidly cause wilt disease, which was alleviated by B. thuringiensis. Furthermore, the expression of lactonase encoded by the aiiA gene in S. marcescens resulted in reduction of its pathogenicity, implying that the toxic effect of S. marcescens on the seedlings was QS-regulated. Meanwhile, excess lactonase in S. marcescens led to reduction in antibacterial substances, exoenzymes, and swarming motility, which might contribute to pathogensis on the seedlings. Root exudates and root tuber extracts of P. heterophylla significantly promoted the growth of S. marcescens, whereas a slight increase of B. thuringiensis was observed in both samples. These results demonstrated that QS-regulated behaviors in S. marcescens mediated by root exudates played an important role in replanting diseases of P. heterophylla.