Small-molecule inhibitor binding to an N-acyl-homoserine lactone synthase.

ABSTRACT: Quorum sensing (QS) controls certain behaviors of bacteria in response to population density. In gram-negative bacteria, QS is often mediated by N-acyl-L-homoserine lactones (acyl-HSLs). Because QS influences the virulence of many pathogenic bacteria, synthetic inhibitors of acyl-HSL synthases might be useful therapeutically for controlling pathogens. However, rational design of a potent QS antagonist has been thwarted by the lack of information concerning the binding interactions between acyl-HSL synthases and their ligands. In the gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia glumae, QS controls virulence, motility, and protein secretion and is mediated by the binding of N-octanoyl-L-HSL (C8-HSL) to its cognate receptor, TofR. C8-HSL is synthesized by the acyl-HSL synthase TofI. In this study, we

SUBMITTER: Chung J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3141922 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature