Mycobacterium marinum is a marine, free-living bacterium that causes infections in aquatic organisms, and is known to cause opportunistic infections in humans. M. marinum, like other bacteria in the Mycobacterium genus, including its closest genetic relative M. tuberculosis, has mycolic acids on the exterior of its cell walls. This prevents antibiotics that interact with the peptidoglycan of the bacterial cell wall from being effective. They are also known to produce protective biofilms creating an additional barrier. These traits reduce the ability for current antibiotics to effectively treat and eliminate infections. Current treatments work through growth inhibition which drive the organism to develop antibiotic resistance. While finding new growth inhibitors is important, there has been little study on treatments that interact through other mechanisms. By focusing on biofilm formation, we hope to circumnavigate the mechanisms used by the bacterium to develop resistance to renew ineffective treatments as well as creating new ones. Recent research also implicates the role of Quorum Sensing in biofilm formation. In this research, we investigate the role of novel compounds isolated from a large collection of marine bacteria and their ability to inhibit growth and/or biofilm formation. The development of a quorum sensing assay to further study the mechanisms that regulate biofilm formation will also be discussed.

Antimycobacterial compounds isolated from marine bacteria and their potential role in biofilm formation

255th National Meeting (2018)

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