Dual function of tropodithietic acid as antibiotic and signaling molecule in global gene regulation of the probiotic bacterium Phaeobacter inhibens.

ABSTRACT: Antibiotics are typically regarded as microbial weapons, but whereas their function at concentrations lethal for bacteria is often well characterized, the role of antibiotics at much lower concentrations as possibly found under natural conditions remains poorly understood. By using whole-transcriptome analyses and phenotypic screenings of the marine bacterium Phaeobacter inhibens we found that the broad-spectrum antibiotic tropodithietic acid (TDA) causes the same regulatory effects in quorum sensing (QS) as the common signaling molecule N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) at concentrations 100-fold lower than the minimal inhibitory concentration against bacteria. Our results show that TDA has a significant impact on the expression of ~10% of the total genes of P. inhibens, in the same manner

SUBMITTER: Beyersmann PG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5429656 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature