Inhibition Effect of Benzimidazolium Salts on Swarming Motility on Pseudomonas Aeruginosa PAO1 ^†

Introduction: Bacteria can move across semisolid surfaces in colonies of flagella-driven cells. And this coordinated type of movement is called swarming motility. Swarming has been linked to increased antibiotic resistance and virulence in a variety of human infections, and it may be viewed as a beneficial adaptation to the many problems that bacteria encounter in quickly evolving settings. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the species that uses swarming motility for pathogenicity. In this study, the inhibitory effect of benzimidazolium salts on swarming motility in P. aeruginosa PAO1 was investigated.

Methods: P. aeruginosa PAO1 was grown overnight in Luria–Bertani medium at 37 °C. The next day, 20 mL of the molecules whose inhibitory effects were investigated were added to the swarming medium at a sub-mic concentration and poured into Petri dishes. Two µL of bacteria supernatant was inoculated in the center of the agar and incubated at 37 °C for 18–24 h. Positive control P. aeruginosa PAO1 was inoculated into the medium without adding extract. After incubation, the inhibition effect of compounds was evaluated by measuring the diameter of the swarming at the inoculation site. The study was carried out three times, and the results were compared with the control.

Results: One of the virulence factors that is crucial to Pseudomonas’ pathogenicity is swarming motility. Both compounds had a high rate of inhibitory effect (78%) in the swarming motility data, and all results were found to be statistically significant.

Conclusions: In recent years, when antibiotic resistance has become a major problem, alternative solutions have been tried against infectious diseases. Inhibition of bacterial communication, which is important in pathogenicity, is one of the promising options. This compound may be useful in future research investigations into drug development.