Characterization of the in vitro production of N-acyl homoserine lactones by cultivable bacteria inhabiting the sponge Suberites domuncula

Sponges together with associated bacteria form complex holobionts governed by various relationships established between the partners. Molecules of communication may participate in the homeostasis of these biological associations. Bacteria produce N-acyl homoserine lactones to communicate. In the present study, we characterized 102 cultivable bacteria isolated from the sponge Suberites domuncula at the genus level and described their production of AHLs during 96 h of culture in a Marine Broth medium. The presence of AHLs was monitored using the Escherichia coli pSB406 reporter strain. Sixty-seven bacteria were AHLs positive. Among them, 46 were related to the Gammaproteobacteria, eight to the Alphaproteobacteria, seven to the Firmicutes and six to the Flavobacteria. The kinetic production of AHLs was determined and compared with a reference bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 (pDA224). We established three profiles of AHLs production with no definitive pattern related to an order, a family or a genus of bacteria