Macromolecular Inhibition of Quorum Sensing: Enzymes, Antibodies, and Beyond

Different signaling systems have been discovered, with still more proteins and small molecules involved in QS likely to be uncovered in future. Interactions between plants and microorganisms are ubiquitous. The ascent of plants on land and its subsequent first interactions with soil microbes has been estimated to have occurred around 500 million years ago, and the ability of plants to defend themselves against continuous attacks of pathogens has been paramount to their evolutionary success. The first QSM-inactivating enzyme was identified by Dong by screening treated soil samples and laboratory bacterial collections. The use of AHL-degrading enzymes has been proposed as a strategy to attenuate bacterial virulence. Reimmann and co-workers reported that over-expression of aiiA homologues of two Bacillus spp in P. aeruginosa PAO1 resulted in decreased production of elastase (LasB).