Assessing biofilm formation by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium on abiotic substrata in the presence of quorum sensing signals produced by Hafnia alvei

The quorum sensing molecule C12-HSL promotes biofilm formation and increases adrA expression in Salmonella Enteritidis under anaerobic conditions

Acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) are quorum-sensing signaling molecules in Gram-negative bacteria and positively regulate biofilm formation in Salmonella under specific conditions. In this study, biofilm formation in Salmonella enterica was evaluated at 28 and 37 °C, under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Additionally, the influence of the N-dodecanoyl-DL-homoserine lactone (C12-HSL) on biofilm formation and the expression of genes related to the synthesis of structural components, regulation, and quorum sensing was assessed under anaerobiosis at 28 and 37 °C. Biofilm formation was found not to be influenced by the atmospheric conditions at 28 °C. However, it was reduced at 37 °C under anaerobiosis. C12-HSL enhanced biofilm formation at 37 °C under anaerobiosis and increased the expression of the adrA and luxS genes, suggesting an increase in c-di-GMP, a second messenger that controls essential physiological functions in bacteria. These results provide new insights into the regulation of biofilm formation in Salmonella under anaerobic conditions.

Role of Microbial Interactions across Food-Related Bacteria on Biofilm Population and Biofilm Decontamination by a TiO2-Nanoparticle-Based Surfactant

Microbial interactions play an important role in initial cell adhesion and the endurance of biofilm toward disinfectant stresses. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of microbial interactions on biofilm formation and the disinfecting activity of an innovative photocatalytic surfactant based on TiO₂ nanoparticles. Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Leuconostoc spp., Latilactobacillus sakei, Serratia liquefaciens, Serratia proteomaculans, Citrobacter freundii, Hafnia alvei, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas fragi, and Brochothrix thermosphacta left to form mono- or dual-species biofilms on stainless steel (SS) coupons. The effectiveness of the photocatalytic disinfectant after 2 h of exposure under UV light on biofilm decontamination was evaluated. The effect of one parameter i.e., exposure to UV or disinfectant, was also determined. According to the obtained results, the microbial load of a mature biofilm depended on the different species or dual species that had adhered to the surface, while the presence of other species could affect the biofilm population of a specific microbe (p < 0.05). The disinfectant strengthened the antimicrobial activity of UV, as, in most cases, the remaining biofilm population was below the detection limit of the method. Moreover, the presence of more than one species affected the resistance of the biofilm cells to UV and the disinfectant (p < 0.05). In conclusion, this study confirms that microbial interactions affected biofilm formation and decontamination, and it demonstrates the effectiveness of the surfactant with the photocatalytic TiO₂ agent, suggesting that it could be an alternative agent with which to disinfect contaminated surfaces.

Comparative Study of Polycaprolactone Electrospun Fibers and Casting Films Enriched with Carbon and Nitrogen Sources and Their Potential Use in Water Bioremediation

Augmenting bacterial growth is of great interest to the biotechnological industry. Hence, the effect of poly (caprolactone) fibrous scaffolds to promote the growth of different bacterial strains of biological and industrial interest was evaluated. Furthermore, different types of carbon (glucose, fructose, lactose and galactose) and nitrogen sources (yeast extract, glycine, peptone and urea) were added to the scaffold to determinate their influence in bacterial growth. Bacterial growth was observed by scanning electron microscopy; thermal characteristics were also evaluated; bacterial cell growth was measured by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry at 600-nm. Fibers produced have an average diameter between 313 to 766 nm, with 44% superficial porosity of the scaffolds, a glass transition around ~64 °C and a critical temperature of ~338 °C. The fibrous scaffold increased the cell growth of Escherichia coli by 23% at 72 h, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus increased by 36% and 95% respectively at 48 h, when compared to the normal growth of their respective bacterial cultures. However, no significant difference in bacterial growth between the scaffolds and the casted films could be observed. Cell growth depended on a combination of several factors: type of bacteria, carbon or nitrogen sources, casted films or 3D scaffolds. Microscopy showed traces of a biofilm formation around 3 h in culture of P. aeruginosa. Water bioremediation studies showed that P. aeruginosa on poly (caprolactone)/Glucose fibers was effective in removing 87% of chromium in 8 h.

Growth of Salmonella Enteritidis in the presence of quorum sensing signaling compounds produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Quorum sensing (QS) can exist in food-related bacteria and potentially affect bacterial growth through acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs). To verify the role of QS compounds in the cell-free supernatant, this study examined the effect of supernatant extracted from Pseudomonas aeruginosa culture on the growth kinetics of Salmonella Enteritidis. The results showed that the lag time (λ) of S. Enteritidis was apparently reduced (p < 0.05) under the influence of P. aeruginosa culture supernatant compared with the S. Enteritidis culture supernatant. HPLC-MS/MS test demonstrated that AHLs secreted by P. aeruginosa were mainly C14-HSL with a content of 85.71 μg/mL and a small amount of 3-oxo-C12-HSL. In addition, the commercially synthetic C14-HSL had positive effects on the growth of S. Enteritidis, confirming once again that the growth of S. Enteritidis was affected by AHL metabolized by other bacteria and the complexity of bacterial communication.

Salmonella spp. quorum sensing: an overview from environmental persistence to host cell invasion

Salmonella spp. is one of the main foodborne pathogens around the world. It has a cyclic lifestyle that combines host colonization with survival outside the host, implying that Salmonella has to adapt to different conditions rapidly in order to survive. One of these environments outside the host is the food production chain. In this environment, this foodborne pathogen has to adapt to different stress conditions such as acidic environments, nutrient limitation, desiccation, or biocides. One of the mechanisms used by Salmonella to survive under such conditions is biofilm formation. Quorum sensing plays an important role in the production of biofilms composed of cells from the same microorganism or from different species. It is also important in terms of food spoilage and regulates the pathogenicity and invasiveness of Salmonella by regulating Salmonella pathogenicity islands and flagella. Therefore, in this review, we will discuss the genetic mechanism involved in Salmonella quorum sensing, paying special attention to small RNAs and their post-regulatory activity in quorum sensing. We will further discuss the importance of this cell-to-cell communication mechanism in the persistence and spoilage of Salmonella in the food chain environment and the importance in the communication with microorganisms from different species. Subsequently, we will focus on the role of quorum sensing to regulate the virulence and invasion of host cells by Salmonella and on the interaction between Salmonella and other microbial species. This review offers an overview of the importance of quorum sensing in the Salmonella lifestyle.

Quorum Sensing-Mediated and Growth Phase-Dependent Regulation of Metabolic Pathways in Hafnia alvei H4

Quorum sensing (QS) is a widespread regulatory mechanism in bacteria used to coordinate target gene expression with cell density. Thus far, little is known about the regulatory relationship between QS and cell density in terms of metabolic pathways in Hafnia alvei H4. In this study, transcriptomics analysis was performed under two conditions to address this question. The comparative transcriptome of H. alvei H4 wild-type at high cell density (OD₆₀₀ = 1.7) relative to low cell density (OD₆₀₀ = 0.3) was considered as growth phase-dependent manner (GPDM), and the transcriptome profile of luxI/R deletion mutant (ΔluxIR) compared to the wild-type was considered as QS-mediated regulation. In all, we identified 206 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) mainly presented in chemotaxis, TCA cycle, two-component system, ABC transporters and pyruvate metabolism, co-regulated by the both density-dependent regulation, and the results were validated by qPCR and swimming phenotypic assays. Aside from the co-regulated DEGs, we also found that 59 DEGs, mediated by density-independent QS, function in pentose phosphate and histidine metabolism and that 2084 cell-density-dependent DEGs involved in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and phenylalanine metabolism were influenced only by GPDM from significantly enriched analysis of transcriptome data. The findings provided new information about the interplay between two density-dependent metabolic regulation, which could assist with the formulation of control strategies for this opportunistic pathogen, especially at high cell density.

Short Chain Fatty Acids Commonly Produced by Gut Microbiota Influence Salmonella enterica Motility, Biofilm Formation, and Gene Expression

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are commonly produced by healthy gut microbiota and they have a protective role against enteric pathogens. SCFAs also have direct antimicrobial activity against bacterial pathogens by diffusion across the bacterial membrane and reduction of intracellular pH. Due to this antimicrobial activity, SCFAs have promising applications in human health and food safety. In this study, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of four SCFAs (acetic acid, butyric acid, propionic acid, and valeric acid) in Salmonella strains isolated from poultry were determined. The effect of subinhibitory concentrations of SCFAs in Salmonella biofilm formation, motility, and gene expression was also evaluated. Butyric acid, propionic acid, and valeric acid showed a MIC of 3750 µg/mL in all strains tested, while the MIC of acetic acid was between 1875 and 3750 µg/mL. Subinhibitory concentrations of SCFAs significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the motility of all Salmonella strains, especially in the presence of acetic acid. Biofilm formation was also significantly (p < 0.05) lower in the presence of SCFAs in some of the Salmonella strains. Salmonella strain. Salmonella Typhimurium T7 showed significant (p < 0.05) upregulation of important virulence genes, such as invA and hilA, especially in the presence of butyric acid. Therefore, SCFAs are promising substances for the inhibition of the growth of foodborne pathogens. However, it is important to avoid the use of subinhibitory concentrations that could increase the virulence of foodborne pathogen Salmonella.

Exploitation of plant extracts and phytochemicals against resistant Salmonella spp. in biofilms

Salmonella is one of the most frequent causes of foodborne outbreaks throughout the world. In the last years, the resistance of this and other pathogenic bacteria to antimicrobials has become a prime concern towards their successful control. In addition, the tolerance and virulence of pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella, are commonly related to their ability to form biofilms, which are sessile structures encountered on various surfaces and whose development is considered as a universal stress response mechanism. Indeed, the ability of Salmonella to form a biofilm seems to significantly contribute to its persistence in food production areas and clinical settings. Plant extracts and phytochemicals appear as promising sources of novel antimicrobials due to their cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness, great structural diversity, and lower possibility of antimicrobial resistance development in comparison to synthetic chemicals. Research on these agents mainly attributes their antimicrobial activity to a diverse array of secondary metabolites. Bacterial cells are usually killed by the rupture of their cell envelope and in parallel the disruption of their energy metabolism when treated with such molecules, while their use at sub-inhibitory concentrations may also disrupt intracellular communication. The purpose of this article is to review the current available knowledge related to antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in biofilms, together with the antibiofilm properties of plant extracts and phytochemicals against these detrimental bacteria towards their future application to control these in food production and clinical environments.

N-dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone influences the levels of thiol and proteins related to oxidation-reduction process in Salmonella

Quorum sensing is a cell-cell communication mechanism mediated by chemical signals that leads to differential gene expression in response to high population density. Salmonella is unable to synthesize the autoinducer-1 (AI-1), N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL), but is able to recognize AHLs produced by other microorganisms through SdiA protein. This study aimed to evaluate the fatty acid and protein profiles of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis PT4 578 throughout time of cultivation in the presence of AHL. The presence of N-dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone (C12-HSL) altered the fatty acid and protein profiles of Salmonella cultivated during 4, 6, 7, 12 and 36 h in anaerobic condition. The profiles of Salmonella Enteritidis at logarithmic phase of growth (4 h of cultivation), in the presence of C12-HSL, were similar to those of cells at late stationary phase (36 h). In addition, there was less variation in both protein and fatty acid profiles along growth, suggesting that this quorum sensing signal anticipated a stationary phase response. The presence of C12-HSL increased the abundance of thiol related proteins such as Tpx, Q7CR42, Q8ZP25, YfgD, AhpC, NfsB, YdhD and TrxA, as well as the levels of free cellular thiol after 6 h of cultivation, suggesting that these cells have greater potential to resist oxidative stress. Additionally, the LuxS protein which synthesizes the AI-2 signaling molecule was differentially abundant in the presence of C12-HSL. The NfsB protein had its abundance increased in the presence of C12-HSL at all evaluated times, which is a suggestion that the cells may be susceptible to the action of nitrofurans or that AHLs present some toxicity. Overall, the presence of C12-HSL altered important pathways related to oxidative stress and stationary phase response in Salmonella.

Acyl-homoserine-lactones receptor LuxR of Shewanella baltica involved in the development of microbiota and spoilage of refrigerated shrimp

Numerous bacterial species utilize quorum sensing molecules acyl-homoserine-lactones (AHLs) to communicate, however, crosstalk often complicates the dynamics and behaviors of mixed populations. In this study, we developed a luxR mutant of wild type Shewanella baltica SA03 (WT SA03), and aimed to investigate the role of S. baltica LuxR (AHLs receptor) involved in the spoilage of refrigerated shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) by inoculating WT SA03 and luxR mutant of S. baltica SA03 (ΔluxR SA03), respectively. The results indicated the maximum growth rate of total viable bacteria in shrimp inoculated with ΔluxR SA03 was 73.34% lower than that of WT SA03. The lag time of total bacteria in shrimp treated with ΔluxR SA03 were 87.6 h, significantly longer than that of WT SA03. Meanwhile, the total volatile basic nitrogen concentrations of shrimp treated with WT SA03 were significantly higher than that of ΔluxR SA03 after 2 days of storage, which were in agreement with the decrease of the content of AHLs of the shrimp. The results indicated S. baltica might utilize AHLs produced by other bacteria and accelerate the shrimp spoilage process through LuxR receptor system.