Prodigiosin inhibits motility and activates bacterial cell death revealing molecular biomarkers of programmed cell death

Abstract

The antimicrobial activity of prodigiosin from Serratia nematodiphila darsh1, a bacterial pigment was tested against few food borne bacterial pathogens Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. The mode of action of prodigiosin was studied. Prodigiosin induced bactericidal activity indicating a stereotypical set of biochemical and morphological feature of Programmed cell death (PCD). PCD involves DNA fragmentation, generation of ROS, and expression of a protein with caspase-like substrate specificity in bacterial cells. Prodigiosin was observed to be internalized into bacterial cells and was localized predominantly in the membrane and the nuclear fraction, thus, facilitating intracellular trafficking and then binding of prodigiosin to the bacterial DNA. Corresponding to an increasing concentration of prodigiosin, the level of certain proteases were observed to increase in bacteria studied, thus initiating the onset of PCD. Prodigiosin at a sub-inhibitory concentration inhibits motility of pathogens. Our observations indicated that prodigiosin could be a promising antibacterial agent and could be used in the prevention of bacterial infections.

Genome sequencing and assessment of plant growth-promoting properties of a Serratia marcescens strain isolated from vermicompost

“…Prodigiosin is most commonly found in environmental S. marcescens isolates and has been proposed to suppress growth of various fungi [ 47 ], bacteria [ 97 ], protozoans [ 98 ] and even viruses [ 99 ]. It has been recently suggested that prodigiosin has affinity for the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane, causing outer membrane damage [ 100 ]. The pig operon in the S. marcescens UENF-22GI genome comprises 14 genes (Table 1 ; Additional file 1 : Figure S4) arranged in a structure that resembles the pig operon from S. marcescens ATCC274 (also an environmental isolate) [ 101 ].…”

Spatial-temporal profiling of prodiginines and serratamolides produced by endophytic Serratia marcescens harbored in Maytenus serrata

“…We could not detect necrosis, lesions, or other phytotoxic effects, signifying that the host plant is not impaired by these metabolites. Instead, it is more likely that the host plant benefits from serratamolides and prodiginines production owing to their bioactivities 58 – 61 , 70 .…”

Natural biocide cocktails: Combinatorial antibiotic effects of prodigiosin and biosurfactants

“…glutamicum . Diverse mechanisms inducing bacterial programmed cell death, including DNA intercalation, have been assigned to the pigment’s antibiotic activity [ 18 ]. For activity against Bacillus spec .…”

“…Prodigiosin, which is produced from the precursors 2-octenal and proline in a complex bifurcated pathway, has several relevant properties such as immunosuppressive and anticancer activities toward different types of human cancer cells [ 9 – 11 ], as well as antimicrobial effects against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria [ 12 – 15 ]. Several molecular mechanisms causing the antibiotic effects of prodigiosin are currently discussed, e.g., membrane potential alteration via anion symport [ 16 ], membrane damage [ 15 ], phototoxicity [ 17 ], and formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) [ 18 ].…”