Angela Casillo, Rosanna Papa, Annarita Ricciardelli, Filomena Sannino, Marcello Ziaco, Marco Tilotta, Laura Selan, Gennaro Marino, Maria M. Corsaro, Maria L. Tutino, Marco Artini, Ermenegilda Parrilli
Abstract
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a harmless human skin colonizer responsible for ~20% of orthopedic device-related infections due to its capability to form biofilm. Nowadays there is an interest in the development of anti-biofilm molecules. Marine bacteria represent a still underexploited source of biodiversity able to synthesize a broad range of bioactive compounds, including anti-biofilm molecules. Previous results have demonstrated that the culture supernatant of Antarctic marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 impairs the formation of S. epidermidis biofilm. Further, evidence supports the hydrophobic nature of the active molecule, which has been suggested to act as a signal molecule. In this paper we describe an efficient activity-guided purification protocol which allowed us to purify this anti-biofilm molecule and structurally characterize it by NMR and mass spectrometry analyses. Our results demonstrate that the anti-biofilm molecule is pentadecanal, a long-chain fatty aldehyde, whose anti-S. epidermidis biofilm activity has been assessed using both static and dynamic biofilm assays. The specificity of its action on S. epidermidis biofilm has been demonstrated by testing chemical analogs of pentadecanal differing either in the length of the aliphatic chain or in their functional group properties. Further, indications of the mode of action of pentadecanal have been collected by studying the bioluminescence of a Vibrio harveyi reporter strain for the detection of autoinducer AI-2 like activities. The data collected suggest that pentadecanal acts as an AI-2 signal. Moreover, the aldehyde metabolic role and synthesis in the Antarctic source strain has been investigated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the identification of an anti-biofilm molecule form from cold-adapted bacteria and on the action of a long-chain fatty aldehyde acting as an anti-biofilm molecule against S. epidermidis.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 09 August 2017.
All research outputs
#14,052,256
of 22,955,959 outputs
Outputs from Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
#2,454
of 6,462 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#170,645
of 311,210 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
#51
of 118 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,955,959 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 37th percentile – i.e., 37% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 6,462 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.3. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 57% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 311,210 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 118 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 55% of its contemporaries.
