Fungal Quorum-Sensing Molecules and Inhibitors with Potential Antifungal Activity: A Review

Abstract

The theory of persisting independent and isolated regarding microorganisms is no longer accepted. To survive and reproduce they have developed several communication platforms within the cells which facilitates them to adapt the surrounding environmental changes. This cell-to-cell communication is termed as quorum sensing; it relies upon the cell density and can stimulate several traits of microbes including biofilm formation, competence, and virulence factors secretion. Initially, this sophisticated mode of communication was discovered in bacteria; later, it was also confirmed in eukaryotes (fungi). As a consequence, many quorum-sensing molecules and inhibitors have been identified and characterized in various fungal species. In this review article, we will primarily focus on fungal quorum-sensing molecules and the production of inhibitors from fungal species with potential applications for combating fungal infections.

Fungal Quorum-Sensing Molecules: A Review of Their Antifungal Effect against Candida Biofilms

“…The increasing number of resistant Candida species and isolates highlight the need for new molecules with new targets. Alternative therapeutic approaches against multidrug-resistant fungal biofilms may be the result of a combination of traditional antifungal agents with quorum-sensing molecules [ 36 ].…”

“…At physiological concentrations, farnesol has no significant effect on Candida cells that have already begun hyphae development or biofilm formation [ 25 , 38 ]. However, prior results suggest that farnesol can cause biofilm degradation at supraphysiological concentrations, suggesting the potential use of this compound in biofilm-associated infections [ 36 ]. In addition, several authors have published studies demonstrating contribution of farnesol to reduced azole resistance of Candida cells, including in biofilms [ 72 ].…”

“…Tyrosol is a relatively understudied molecule compared to farnesol in terms of potential antifungal or anti-biofilm activity; despite this, a few studies have examined the potential use of tyrosol in monotherapy or in combination with traditional antifungal agents against Candida species [ 36 , 72 ]. Arias et al (2016) showed that tyrosol treatment at concentrations ranging from 100 to 200 mM exerted a significant reduction in metabolic activity against C. albicans and C. glabrata two-day-old oral biofilms, which was proportional to a reduction in cell number [ 103 ].…”

Rich Repertoire of Quorum Sensing Protein Coding Sequences in CPR and DPANN Associated with Interspecies and Interkingdom Communication

“…Since the CPR and DPANN lineages account for a substantial amount of phylogenetic diversity, the functional characterization of these QS proteins could significantly expand our knowledge of microbial communication across the tree of life. Specifically, QS signals have been characterized so far, to the best of our knowledge, in at least 10 microbial phyla, distributed across Bacteria (14,22,53,54), Archaea (55,56), Eukarya (57), and viruses (17), and our study on the CPR and DPANN lineages suggests that this spectrum could potentially expand to up to 69 additional prokaryotic phyla.…”

Quorum sensing with pheromones

“…They first discovered that conidial germination was significantly inhibited at high, but not low, cell densities, indicative of quorum sensing. Quorum sensing is well defined in bacteria, but is also prevalent in fungi 6,7 . In these conditions, the pheromones were also upregulated.…”