Modulation of Quorum Sensing activity by copper sulfate, potassium dichromate and cadmium chloride in biosensor strains

TORRES, MARIELA ANALÍA; PALACIOS, EVA AIDA REBECA; LACOSEGLIAZ, MARIANO JOSÉ; CASTELLANOS DE FIGUEROA, LUCÍA INÉS; NIETO PEÑALVER, CARLOS GABRIEL

LETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2022

0266-8254

Beyond their biological roles, the presence of metals has a strong impact on the environment. It has been reported that metals, like copper, are also inhibitory of Quorum Sensing (QS) mechanisms, ones of the best characterized signaling systems in bacteria and fungi. In this work, we analyzed the effect of CuSO4, alone and in combination with CdCl2 and K2Cr2O7, on different QS systems that share or differ the bacterial host or the QS signal. Our results show that CuS4 can, not only be inhibitory as previously reported, but also stimulator of QS activity. This different behavior is related to the concentration of the metal and the particular QS system. K2Cr2O7 alone or in combination with CuSO4 also increase the activity of certain QS systems. Under the assayed conditions, CdCl2 only showed an effect when combined with CuSO4. The comparison with previous reports suggests that factors related with the culture conditions can impact on the influence of the metals on QS activity. Our results reinforce the importance of the environment in the modulation of QS activity.