Anti-Biofilm

Titel: Screening for bio-active and anti-biofilm substances of Bacillus and Paenibacillus species

Projektleiter: Dr. rer. nat. Oliwia Makarewicz

Förderzeitraum: 15.09.2011–14.09.2014

Beteiligte Partner innerhalb der Forschergruppe:  Mareike Klinger-Strobel

Gefördert durch BMBF im Rahmen des Center for Sepsis Control and Care (FKZ 01EO1002)

Kurzbeschreibung

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response to localized or generalized infection. Biofilm formation plays a crucial role in many local infections resulting in bacteraemia and sepsis (e.g. ventilator-associated pneumonia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, catheter related infections, device associated infections, surgical site infections, burn injuries etc.) It is suggested that biofilms are presented in more than 65 % of all bacterial infections [1]. Biofilms are sessile, matrix-enclosed communities of bacteria that exhibit increased antibiotic tolerance and protect the microorganisms against the immune defence. Additionally, enhanced horizontal gene transfer allows fast spreading of various resistance determinants within the biofilm. On the other hand, development and production of novel antibiotics declines. Thus, there is a need for novel antimicrobial agents that can inhibit biofilm formation or disperse an existing biofilm. Some organisms (including marine bacteria of the Bacillus species) were found to secrete substances that exhibit antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities into culture supernatant but mostly the bio-active substances are still unknown. The spectrum of known agents with activity against mircoroganisms in biofilms includes lipopetides, polyketides, small peptides and N-acetyl-homoserin-lactone derivates. This reflects the diversity of the biofilm-inhibitory mechanisms and demonstrates the great prospects of Gram-positives as a source of such substances.

The aim of this project was to screen for and to identify bio-active and biofilm inhibiting substances produced by soil-living Bacillus species and pro-biotic Lactobacillus species against human pathogens known to form biofilms.