Indole-3-Acetaldehyde Inhibits Escherichia coli O157:H7 Biofilm Formation by Reducing Curli Formation

Pathogenic biofilms have been associated with persistent infections due to their high resistance to antimicrobial agents. To identify non-toxic biofilm inhibitors for enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7, indole-3-acetaldehyde was used and reduced E. coli O157:H7 biofilm formation. Global transcriptome analyses revealed that indole-3-acetaldehyde most repressed two curli operons, csgBAC and csgDEFG, and induced tryptophanase (tnaAB) in E. coli O157:H7 biofilm cells. Electron microscopy showed that indole-3-acetaldehyde reduced curli production in E. coli O157:H7. Together, this study shows that Actinomycetales are an important resource of biofilm inhibitors as well as antibiotics.

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Lee JH, Kim YG, Kim CJ, Lee JC, Cho MH, Lee J