Quorum Quenching

Book excerpt: Antibiotic resistance is a global health concern. Strains of pathogenic microorganisms that have developed resistance to multiple antibiotics, such as MRSA, are extremely difficult to treat, and alternative methods for tackling pathogenic microorganisms are in demand. One potential target for new therapeutics is inhibition of quorum sensing: how microorganisms communicate and form biofilms in a density-dependent manner. Inhibiting this system via ‘quorum quenching’ (QQ) is a promising route to new pharmaceuticals and for controlling biofilm formation and growth. Quorum sensing also provides interesting possibilities in synthetic biology for producing novel products, biosensors, bioactive molecules, and so on. This book covers the biology of quorum sensing and quenching, and potential sources of QQ enzymes and other inhibitors, as well as an overview of their mechanism and potential biotech applications. The book also covers the potential for new drug development from QQ, covering a range of related topics including protein engineering, imaging and computational studies, and integrated systems. This book is an ideal companion to researchers in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, particularly those interested in biofilm formation, quorum sensing, novel antimicrobial development, synthetic biology and enzymology.