Vanillic acid combats Vibrio alginolyticus by cell membrane damage and biofilm reduction

Abstract

Antibiotics are the most powerful weapon against bacterial infectious diseases in aquaculture. However, the indiscriminate usage of antibiotics often culminates in the emerging development of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria, making it imperative to search for novel types of antimicrobial agents. This study investigated the antibacterial and antivirulence effects of vanillic acid (VA) against the fish pathogen, Vibrio alginolyticus. We showed that VA had a good anti‐Vibrio activity with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.0 mg/ml. In addition, VA wielded its antibacterial action in a dose‐/time‐dependent manner by causing cell membrane damage and increasing membrane permeability, which is evidenced by increasing the conductivity and malondialdehyde content in the treated cell cultures and the scanning electron microscopy images. Furthermore, VA significantly reduced the biofilm‐forming capability, mobility and exotoxin production (protease and exopolysaccharide) and downregulation of the expression of biofilm‐ and virulence‐associated genes (sypG, fliS, fliK, lafA, lafK, asp and luxR) was seen in the V. alginolyticus that exposed to VA at subinhibitory concentrations. Overall, our findings suggested that VA may be of interest for treating V. alginolyticus‐associated infections in aquaculture.

Salpianthus macrodontus Extracts, a Novel Source of Phenolic Compounds with Antibacterial Activity against Potentially Pathogenic Bacteria Isolated from White Shrimp

“…Vanillic acid has been proven to have antibacterial effects against E. coli , Pasteurella multocida , Neisseria gonorrhoeae , Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Staphylococcus aureus , possibly to increased membrane permeability and antibiotic accumulation in pathogens [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Liu et al [ 31 ] proved that vanillic acid presents an antibacterial and an antivirulence effect on Vibrio alginolyticus , with a MIC of 1 mg mL −1 . The vanillic acid effect on V. alginolyticus causes cell membrane damage and increasing membrane permeability and affects biofilm-forming capability, mobility and exotoxin production.…”

Two (p)ppGpp Synthetase Genes, relA and spoT, Are Involved in Regulating Cell Motility, Exopolysaccharides Production, and Biofilm Formation of Vibrio alginolyticus

“…Although the content of extracellular polysaccharides can be determined by the phenol-sulfuric acid method by which the product concentration is qualified by observing the absorbance value ( Liu et al, 2021 ). However, we could not rule out the interference of the residual nucleic acid and other sugars in the samples.…”

“…The modified phenol-sulfuric acid method was used to determine the polysaccharides production ( Liu et al, 2021 ). In the beginning, 8 mg glucose was dissolved into the 100 mL volumetric flask, and then 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 mL glucose solution were added to each centrifuge tube, respectively.…”

Eco-Friendly Solution Based on Rosmarinus officinalis Hydro-Alcoholic Extract to Prevent Biodeterioration of Cultural Heritage Objects and Buildings

“…Further, hesperidin impedes the adherence of S. aureus to inert substratum by a molecular mechanism involving the down regulation of genes such as: polysaccharide intracellular adhesion gene (icaA and icaD), fibronectin-binding protein coding gene (fnbA and fnbB) and staphyloxanthin production (crtM) [ 59 ]. Vanillic acid also acts at the molecular level, reducing the expression of genes involved in biofilm development in the case of Vibrio alginolyticus strains [ 60 ].…”