QUORUM SENSING MOLECULES, N-ACYL HOMOSERINE LACTONE(S) INTERACTS TO INFLUENCE THE PERFORMANCE OF MACROBRACHIUM ROSENBERGII LARVAE

摘要

Various pathogenic/opportunistic bacteria were reported to occur in Macrobrachium rosenbergii larvae (Kennedy et al., 2006). These bacteria cause diseases in prawn hatcheries and cause great losses. Recently, it has become clear that diverse (aquatic)bacterial pathogens employ signal molecules to regulate the production of virulence factors. In Gram-negative bacteria, this type of regulation (termed quorum sensing, QS) is mediated (not exclusively) by N-acyl-L-homoserine lactones, AHLs. This indicates that there is a link between QS and virulence factor expression in several (aquatic) pathogens. Prawn larvae potentially contain several micro-organisms which release several AHLs (Swift at al., 1999). However, it is not clear if these AHLs have the potential to affect the host. This study was conducted to elucidate the effect of AHLs either singly or as a mixture on Macrobrachium larvae performance.