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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2002, p. 1754-1759, Vol. 68, No. 4
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.4.1754-1759.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification of Quorum-Quenching N-Acyl Homoserine Lactonases from Bacillus Species

Yi-Hu Dong, Andi R. Gusti, Qiong Zhang, Jin-Ling Xu, and Lian-Hui Zhang*

Institute of Molecular Agrobiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604

Received 17 October 2001/ Accepted 9 January 2002

A range of gram-negative bacterial species use N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) molecules as quorum-sensing signals to regulate different biological functions, including production of virulence factors. AHL is also known as an autoinducer. An autoinducer inactivation gene, aiiA, coding for an AHL lactonase, was cloned from a bacterial isolate, Bacillus sp. strain 240B1. Here we report identification of more than 20 bacterial isolates capable of enzymatic inactivation of AHLs from different sources. Eight isolates showing strong AHL-inactivating enzyme activity were selected for a preliminary taxonomic analysis. Morphological phenotypes and 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis indicated that these isolates probably belong to the species Bacillus thuringiensis. Enzymatic analysis with known Bacillus strains confirmed that all of the strains of B. thuringiensis and the closely related species B. cereus and B. mycoides tested produced AHL-inactivating enzymes but B. fusiformis and B. sphaericus strains did not. Nine genes coding for AHL inactivation were cloned either by functional cloning or by a PCR procedure from selected bacterial isolates and strains. Sequence comparison of the gene products and motif analysis showed that the gene products belong to the same family of AHL lactonases.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Molecular Agrobiology, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604. Phone: 0065-8727002. Fax: 0065-8727012. E-mail: lianhui{at}ima.org.sg.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2002, p. 1754-1759, Vol. 68, No. 4
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.4.1754-1759.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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