Degradation of bacterial quorum sensing signaling molecules by the microscopic yeast Trichosporon loubieri isolated from tropical wetland waters

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 10; pp. 12943 - 12957
• Main Authors: Wong, Cheng-Siang, Koh, Chong-Lek, Sam, Choon-Kook, Chen, Jian Woon, Chong, Yee Meng, Yin, Wai-Fong, Chan, Kok-Gan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.09.2013; MDPI
• Subjects: Bacteria; basidiomycetous; biosensor; Carbon; E coli; Fungi; lactonase; Lactones - metabolism; N-acylhomoserine lactone; quorum quenching; quorum sensing; Quorum Sensing - physiology; Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography; Science education; Sensors; Trichosporon - metabolism; Trichosporon loubieri; Tropical Climate; Water Microbiology; Wetlands; Yeast; Malacca Malaysia; Malaysia; Singapore
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s131012943

Proteobacteria produce N-acylhomoserine lactones as signaling molecules, which will bind to their cognate receptor and activate quorum sensing-mediated phenotypes in a population-dependent manner. Although quorum sensing signaling molecules can be degraded by bacteria or fungi, there is no reported work on the degradation of such molecules by basidiomycetous yeast. By using a minimal growth medium containing N-3-oxohexanoylhomoserine lactone as the sole source of carbon, a wetland water sample from Malaysia was enriched for microbial strains that can degrade N-acylhomoserine lactones, and consequently, a basidiomycetous yeast strain WW1C was isolated. Morphological phenotype and molecular analyses confirmed that WW1C was a strain of Trichosporon loubieri. We showed that WW1C degraded AHLs with N-acyl side chains ranging from 4 to 10 carbons in length, with or without oxo group substitutions at the C3 position. Re-lactonisation bioassays revealed that WW1C degraded AHLs via a lactonase activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of degradation of N-acyl-homoserine lactones and utilization of N-3-oxohexanoylhomoserine as carbon and nitrogen source for growth by basidiomycetous yeast from tropical wetland water; and the degradation of bacterial quorum sensing molecules by an eukaryotic yeast.