A novel chemical inducer of Streptococcus quorum sensing acts by inhibiting the pheromone-degrading endopeptidase PepO.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria produce chemical signals (pheromones) to coordinate behaviors across a population in a process termed quorum sensing (QS). QS systems comprising peptide pheromones and their corresponding Rgg receptors are widespread among Firmicutes and may be useful targets for manipulating microbial behaviors, like suppressing virulence. The Rgg2/3 QS circuit of the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes controls genes affecting resistance to host lysozyme in response to short hydrophobic pheromones (SHPs). Considering that artificial activation of a QS pathway may be as useful in the objective of manipulating bacteria as inhibiting it, we sought to identify small-molecule inducers of the Rgg2/3 QS system. We report the identification of a small molecule, P516-0475, that specifical

SUBMITTER: Perez Morales TG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5777264 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature