Effect of extracellular levanase SacC from Bacillus subtillis on two–species Staphylococcus aureus – Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms

Abstract

The formation of polymicrobial biofilms significantly increases the resistance of bacteria in them to a wide range of antibiotics thus making their eradication challenging in infectious medicine. In recent years, the emergence of a large number of antibiotic-resistant strains has contributed to a significant increase in severe cases of infectious diseases. Natural compounds such as alkaloids, terpenes, bacterial peptides and enzymes have great potential in combating polymicrobial diseases, associated with the biofilm formation. At the same time, the enzymatic treatment of biofilms has a number of advantages, since the enzymes are nontoxic, do not cause resistance and can increase the effectiveness of existing antimicrobials. Here we show that recombinant extracellular levanase SacC can promote the destruction of two-species biofilms S. aureus – P. aeruginosa and increase the effectiveness of antibiotics against bacteria in the biofilm up to 16 times.