Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus plays a critical role in the persistence of chronic infections due to its tolerance against antimicrobial agents. Here, we investigated the antibiofilm efficacy of six phorbaketals: phorbaketal A (1), phorbaketal A acetate (2), phorbaketal B (3), phorbaketal B acetate (4), phorbaketal C (5), and phorbaketal C acetate (6), isolated from the Korean marine sponge Phorbas sp. Of these six compounds, 3 and 5 were found to be effective inhibitors of biofilm formation by two S. aureus strains, which included a methicillin-resistant S. aureus. In addition, 3 also inhibited the production of staphyloxanthin, which protects microbes from reactive oxygen species generated by neutrophils and macrophages. Transcriptional analyses showed that 3 and 5 inhibited the expression of the biofilm-related hemolysin gene hla and the nuclease gene nuc1.
Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus; antibiofilm activity; marine sponge; phorbaketals; staphyloxanthin.