Malyngolide from the cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula interferes with quorum sensing circuitry

Extracts of several cyanobacterial species collected from different marine and estuarine locations predominately in Florida (USA), with one sample each from Belize and Oman, were screened for their ability to disrupt quorum sensing (QS) in the reporter strain Chromobacterium violaceum CV017. Inhibitory activities were detected in the ethyl acetate: methanol (1:1) extracts of several Lyngbya spp., and extracts of Lyngbya majuscula contained the strongest QS inhibitory activities. Extracts of L. majuscula from the Indian River Lagoon, FL, USA, were further purified by bioassay-guided fractionation. The antibiotic malyngolide (MAL) was identified as a QS inhibitor. Activity of MAL was investigated using N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) reporters based on the LasR receptor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. MAL at concentrations ranging from 3.57 μM to 57 μM (EC₅₀ = 12.2 ± 1.6 mM) inhibited responses of the LasR reporters without affecting bacterial growth. MAL inhibited (EC₅₀ = 10.6 ± 1.8 μM) Las QS-dependent production of elastase by P. aeruginosa PAO1. We propose that this QS inhibitor plays a role in controlling interactions of heterotrophic bacteria associated with the cyanobacterium L. majuscula.