Quorum sensing (QS), bacterial cell-to-cell communication, is a gene regulatory mechanism that regulates virulence potential and biofilm formation in many pathogens. Aeromonas sobria, a common aquaculture pathogen, was isolated and identified by our laboratory from the deteriorated turbot, and its potential for virulence factors and biofilm production was regulated by QS system. In view of the interference with QS system, this study was aimed to investigate the effect of methyl anthranilate at sub-Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (sub-MICs) on QS-regulated phenotypes in A. sobria. The results suggested that 0.5 μL/mL of methyl anthranilate evidently reduced biofilm formation (51.44%), swinging motility (74.86%), swarming motility (71.63%), protease activity (43.08%), and acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) production. Furthermore, the real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and in silico analysis showed that methyl anthranilate might inhibit QS system in A. sobria by interfering with the biosynthesis of AHL, as well as competitively binding with receptor protein. Therefore, our data indicated the feasibility of methyl anthranilate as a promising QS inhibitor and anti-biofilm agent for improving food safety.

中文翻译：

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邻氨基苯甲酸甲酯：一种新颖的群体感应抑制剂和抗气单胞菌的抗生物膜剂。

群体感应（QS）是细菌与细胞之间的通信，是一种基因调节机制，可调节许多病原体中的毒力潜能和生物膜形成。我们的实验室从恶化的大菱t中分离并鉴定了常见的水产养殖病原体气单胞菌，并通过QS系统调节了其潜在的毒力因子和生物膜产生。鉴于对QS系统的干扰，本研究旨在调查在嗜血假单胞菌QS调节表型的亚最低抑制浓度（sub-MICs）下邻氨基苯甲酸甲酯的影响。结果表明0.5μL/ mL的邻氨基苯甲酸甲酯可明显减少生物膜形成（51.44％），摇摆运动（74.86％），成群运动（71.63％），蛋白酶活性（43.08％）和酰基高丝氨酸内酯（AHL）的产生。此外，实时定量PCR（RT-qPCR）和计算机分析表明，邻氨基苯甲酸甲酯可能通过干扰AHL的生物合成以及与受体蛋白竞争性结合，从而抑制了弧菌的QS系统。因此，我们的数据表明邻氨基苯甲酸甲酯作为提高食品安全性的有前途的QS抑制剂和抗生物膜剂的可行性。