(191c) Strategies for Quorum Sensing Inhibition in Staphylococcus aureus

Many pathogenic bacteria regulate gene expression in response to cell density using quorum sensing. Quorum sensing is responsible for virulence in Staphylococcus aureus and requires the synthesis and exchange of compounds known as autoinducers. Disruption of the quorum sensing system, known as quorum quenching, can be achieved by degradation of autoinducers therefore making quorum quenching a potential non-antibiotic intervention against resistant pathogens. Here, we reconstitute S. aureus quorum signaling in non-pathogenic bacterial model hosts. We also present an inverter-type cellular circuit to facilitate high-throughput screening of potential quorum-quenching enzymes. Finally, we use directed evolution to drive mutations in enzymes towards increased performance in autoinducer degradation.