Purification and characterisation of a quorum quenching AHL-lactonase from the endophytic bacterium Enterobacter sp. CS66

FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2018 May 1;365(9):fny054. doi: 10.1093/femsle/fny054.

Abstract

The quorum quenching (QQ) activity of endophytic bacteria associated with medicinal plants was explored. Extracts of the Gram-negative Enterobacter sp. CS66 possessed potent N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) hydrolytic activity in vitro. Using degenerate primers, we PCR-amplified an open reading frame (denoted aiiE) from CS66 that was 96% identical to the well-characterised AHL-lactonase AiiA from Bacillus thuringiensis, but only 30% was identical to AHL-lactonases from other Gram-negative species. This confirms that close AiiA homologs can be found in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Purified AiiE exhibited potent AHL-lactonase activity against a broad range of AHLs. Furthermore, aiiE was able to reduce the production of secreted plant cell wall-degrading hydrolytic enzymes when expressed in trans in the economically important plant pathogen, Pectobacterium atrosepticum. Our results indicate the presence of a novel AHL-lactonase in Enterobacter sp. CS66 with significant potential as a biocontrol agent.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acyl-Butyrolactones / metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / isolation & purification*
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Endophytes / enzymology*
  • Endophytes / genetics
  • Endophytes / isolation & purification
  • Endophytes / physiology
  • Enterobacter / enzymology*
  • Enterobacter / genetics
  • Enterobacter / isolation & purification
  • Enterobacter / physiology
  • Kinetics
  • Ligases / chemistry
  • Ligases / genetics
  • Ligases / isolation & purification*
  • Ligases / metabolism*
  • Magnoliopsida / microbiology*
  • Quorum Sensing
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • Acyl-Butyrolactones
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Ligases
  • N-acylhomoserine lactone synthase