title: Extracellular protease in Actinomycetes culture supernatants inhibits and detaches Staphylococcus                      aureus biofilm formation.
abstract: Bacterial biofilms are associated with chronic infections due to their resistance to antimicrobial agents. Staphylococcus aureus is a versatile human pathogen and can form biofilms on human tissues and diverse medical devices. To identify novel biofilm inhibitors of S. aureus, the supernatants from a library of 458 Actinomycetes strains were screened. The culture supernatants (1% v/v) of more than 10 Actinomycetes strains inhibited S. aureus biofilm formation by more than 80% without affecting the growth. The culture supernatants of these biofilm-reducing Actinomycetes strains contained a protease (equivalent to 0.1 μg proteinase K ml(-1)), which both inhibited S. aureus biofilm formation and detached pre-existing S. aureus biofilms. This study suggests that protease treatment could be a feasible tool to reduce and eradicate S. aureus biofilms.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea. 20721381@ynu.ac.kr
authors.forename: Joo-Hyeon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jin-Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chang-Jin
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae-Chan
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Moo Hwan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Jintae
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000201:enzymology*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases