An ethyl acetate extract of a marine actinomycete strain,
Nocardiopsis mentallicus SCSIO 53858, isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample in the South China Sea, exhibited anti-quorum-sensing (QS) activity against
Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. Guided by the anti-QS activity, a novel active compound was isolated
[...] Read more.
An ethyl acetate extract of a marine actinomycete strain,
Nocardiopsis mentallicus SCSIO 53858, isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample in the South China Sea, exhibited anti-quorum-sensing (QS) activity against
Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. Guided by the anti-QS activity, a novel active compound was isolated and purified from the extract and was identified as 2,3-dimethoxycinnamic acid (2,3-DCA) through spectral data analysis. At a concentration of 150 μg/mL, 2,3-DCA exhibited robust inhibitory effects on three QS-regulated traits of
C.
violaceum CV026: violacein production, swarming motility, and biofilm formation, with inhibition rates of 73.9%, 65.9%, and 37.8%, respectively. The quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction results indicated that 2,3-DCA can disrupt the QS system in
C.
violaceum CV026 by effectively suppressing the expression of QS-related genes, including
cviR,
vioA,
vioB, and
vioE. Molecular docking analysis revealed that 2,3-DCA hinders the QS system by competitively binding to the same binding pocket on the CviR receptor as the natural signal molecule N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone. Collectively, these findings suggest that 2,3-DCA exhibits promising potential as an inhibitor of QS systems, providing a potential solution to the emerging problem of bacterial resistance.
Full article
