The effect of IAN on P. aeruginosa virulence

Intercellular signal indole and its derivative hydroxyindoles inhibit Escherichia coli biofilm and diminish Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence. However, indole and bacterial indole derivatives were unstable in microbial community due to the widespread of diverse oxygenases that could quickly degrade them. Hence, we sought to identify novel non-toxic, stable, and potent indole derivatives from plant sources for inhibiting biofilm formation of E. coli O157:H7 and P. aeruginosa PAO1. Here, plant auxin 3-indolylacetonitrile (IAN) was found to inhibit biofilm formation of both E. coli O157:H7 and P. aeruginosa without affecting its growth. IAN inhibited biofilms more effectively than indole for both E. coli and P. aeruginosa. Additionally, IAN decreased the production of virulence factor pyocyanin in P. aeruginosa. DNA microarray analysis indicated that IAN repressed genes involved in curli formation and glycerol metabolism, while IAN induced indole-related genes and prophage genes in E. coli. It appears that IAN inhibits biofilm formation of E. coli by reducing curli formation and inducing indole production. Furthermore, unlike bacterial indole derivatives, plant-originated IAN was stable in the presence of either E. coli or P. aeruginosa.

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