What an Escherichia coli Mutant Can Teach Us About the Antibacterial Effect of Chlorophyllin

Krüger, Marcus; Richter, Peter; Strauch, Sebastian M.; Nasir, Adeel; Burkovski, Andreas; Antunes, Camila A.; Meißgeier, Tina; Schlücker, Eberhard; Schwab, Stefan; Lebert, Michael

doi:10.3390/microorganisms7020059

Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue

Article Menu

...

Open AccessArticle

What an Escherichia coli Mutant Can Teach Us About the Antibacterial Effect of Chlorophyllin

^1,*

²,

²,

³,

²,

⁴

⁴ and

Clinic for Plastic, Aesthetic and Hand Surgery, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany

Cell Biology Division: Gravitational Biology Group, Department of Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Staudtstraße 5, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

Microbiology Division, Department of Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Staudtstraße 5, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

⁴

Institute of Process Machinery and Systems Engineering (iPAT), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Cauerstraße 4, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Microorganisms 2019, 7(2), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7020059

Received: 31 December 2018 / Revised: 8 February 2019 / Accepted: 19 February 2019 / Published: 22 February 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies and Weapons to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance)

View Full-Text Download PDF

Browse Figures

Citation Export

Abstract

Due to the increasing development of antibiotic resistances in recent years, scientists search intensely for new methods to control bacteria. Photodynamic treatment with porphyrins such as chlorophyll derivatives is one of the most promising methods to handle bacterial infestation, but their use is dependent on illumination and they seem to be more effective against Gram-positive bacteria than against Gram-negatives. In this study, we tested chlorophyllin against three bacterial model strains, the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis 168, the Gram-negative Escherichia coli DH5α and E. coli strain NR698 which has a deficient outer membrane, simulating a Gram-negative “without” its outer membrane. Illuminated with a standardized light intensity of 12 mW/cm², B. subtilis showed high sensitivity already at low chlorophyllin concentrations (≤10⁵ cfu/mL: ≤0.1 mg/L, 10⁶–10⁸ cfu/mL: 0.5 mg/L), whereas E. coli DH5α was less sensitive (≤10⁵ cfu/mL: 2.5 mg/L, 10⁶ cfu/mL: 5 mg/L, 10⁷–10⁸ cfu/mL: ineffective at ≤25 mg/L chlorophyllin). E. coli NR698 was almost as sensitive as B. subtilis against chlorophyllin, pointing out that the outer membrane plays a significant role in protection against photodynamic chlorophyllin impacts. Interestingly, E. coli NR698 and B. subtilis can also be inactivated by chlorophyllin in darkness, indicating a second, light-independent mode of action. Thus, chlorophyllin seems to be more than a photosensitizer, and a promising substance for the control of bacteria, which deserves further investigation. View Full-Text

Keywords: chlorophyll; photosensitization; antimicrobial photodynamic therapy; aPDT; alternative antibiotics

▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary File 1:
PDF-Document (PDF, 1659 KiB)

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Krüger, M.; Richter, P.; Strauch, S.M.; Nasir, A.; Burkovski, A.; Antunes, C.A.; Meißgeier, T.; Schlücker, E.; Schwab, S.; Lebert, M. What an Escherichia coli Mutant Can Teach Us About the Antibacterial Effect of Chlorophyllin. Microorganisms 2019, 7, 59. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7020059

AMA Style

Krüger M, Richter P, Strauch SM, Nasir A, Burkovski A, Antunes CA, Meißgeier T, Schlücker E, Schwab S, Lebert M. What an Escherichia coli Mutant Can Teach Us About the Antibacterial Effect of Chlorophyllin. Microorganisms. 2019; 7(2):59. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7020059

Chicago/Turabian Style

Krüger, Marcus, Peter Richter, Sebastian M. Strauch, Adeel Nasir, Andreas Burkovski, Camila A. Antunes, Tina Meißgeier, Eberhard Schlücker, Stefan Schwab, and Michael Lebert. 2019. "What an Escherichia coli Mutant Can Teach Us About the Antibacterial Effect of Chlorophyllin" Microorganisms 7, no. 2: 59. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7020059

Find Other Styles

Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Abstract views Pdf views Html views

Article Menu

What an Escherichia coli Mutant Can Teach Us About the Antibacterial Effect of Chlorophyllin

Abstract

Supplementary Material

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI