Controlling Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Virulence Through Clove Bud oil Mediated Modulation of Quorum Sensing

Abstract

Microorganisms are often viewed as simple living beings, but the study of microbial development has shown that they are equipped with complex differentiation and behavioural patterns, which are well demonstrated by their capacity to effectively cause disease and continue to threaten human health and welfare. A major challenge is the emergence of bacterial strains exhibiting resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics. Understanding the capability of bacteria to adapt, survive and cause disease in vivo is the basis of the study of bacterial pathogenicity. A detailed study of the molecular mechanisms underlying this process of pathogenesis is crucial for the identification of new targets for intervention and for the provision of alternative strategies for disease control. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an extensively studied ubiquitous bacterial pathogen that demonstrates considerable nutritional and metabolic versatility and adaptability. This is, in part, reflected by the fact that it has a very large genome containing a high proportion of regulatory genes, giving it the genetic complexity approaching that of an eukaryotic organism. P. aeruginosa is one of the most important human pathogens of its genus and is known to have a remarkable repertoire of mechanisms to infect almost any external site or organ. Most infections are mild and superficial, but in hospital patients, infections are more frequent, severe and varied. In fact, it is one of the most common gram-negative bacteria found in hospital-acquired infections, and is the major cause of pneumonia, urinary tract, surgical and burn wound as well as bloodstream infections. Chronic pulmonary infections due to P. aeruginosa are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. It is evident that the remarkable capability of P. aeruginosa to cause disease is not only the consequence of its individual characteristics but can also be attributed to its behaviour as a population, where individual members can communicate by a process termed as