Bioluminescent whole-cell reporter gene assays as screening tools in the identification of antimicrobial natural product extracts

Susanna Nybond; Matti Karp; Teijo Yrjönen; Päivi Tammela

doi:10.1016/j.mimet.2015.04.014

Bioluminescent whole-cell reporter gene assays as screening tools in the identification of antimicrobial natural product extracts

J Microbiol Methods. 2015 Jul:114:54-6. doi: 10.1016/j.mimet.2015.04.014. Epub 2015 Apr 30.

Authors

Susanna Nybond¹, Matti Karp², Teijo Yrjönen¹, Päivi Tammela³

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Drug Research, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
² Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland.
³ Centre for Drug Research, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: paivi.tammela@helsinki.fi.

PMID: 25937087
DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2015.04.014

Abstract

We describe novel tools, bioluminescent whole-cell reporter gene assays, for facilitating the use of natural products in antimicrobial drug discovery. As proof-of-concept, a plant extract library was screened and follow-up experiments were carried out. Primary results can be obtained in 2-4h with high sensitivity, leading to significant improvements of the process.

Keywords: Antibacterial; Bioluminescence; Cell-based assay; Escherichia coli; Natural products; Screening.

Publication types

Evaluation Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anti-Infective Agents / isolation & purification*
Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology*
Biological Products / isolation & purification*
Biological Products / pharmacology*
Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / methods*
Genes, Reporter*
Luminescent Measurements
Plant Extracts / chemistry
Sensitivity and Specificity
Time Factors

Substances

Anti-Infective Agents
Biological Products
Plant Extracts