Turmeric Oil Interferes with Quorum Sensing as an Alternative Approach to Control <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Infection in Aquaculture

Aquatic products play a crucial role in meeting the increasing global demands for high-quality proteins. However, the occurrence of bacterial diseases results in significant economic losses worldwide. <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> (<i>A. hydrophila</i>) is the pathogen of sever...

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Main Authors: Jing Dong, Jian Tong, Shengping Li, Xinwei Ma, Qiuhong Yang, Yongtao Liu, Shun Zhou, Xizhi Shi, Xiaohui Ai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Biology
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/483
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author Jing Dong
Jian Tong
Shengping Li
Xinwei Ma
Qiuhong Yang
Yongtao Liu
Shun Zhou
Xizhi Shi
Xiaohui Ai
author_facet Jing Dong
Jian Tong
Shengping Li
Xinwei Ma
Qiuhong Yang
Yongtao Liu
Shun Zhou
Xizhi Shi
Xiaohui Ai
author_sort Jing Dong
collection DOAJ
description Aquatic products play a crucial role in meeting the increasing global demands for high-quality proteins. However, the occurrence of bacterial diseases results in significant economic losses worldwide. <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> (<i>A. hydrophila</i>) is the pathogen of several fish diseases. Antibiotics were widely used in combating bacterial diseases in aquaculture. The increasing occurrences of antibiotic resistance necessitate the restricted use of antibiotics. Consequently, developing drugs that avoid antibiotic resistance is important for the future of aquaculture. Quorum sensing (QS) is critical for bacterial pathogens in regulating bacterial virulence and is a promising target for developing anti-infective agents. Here, we found that turmeric oil with a MIC of 256 μg/mL could dose-dependently reduce the virulence phenotypes regulated by QS, ranging from 8 to 64 μg/mL, suggesting that sub-inhibitory concentrations of turmeric oil could inhibit bacterial virulence. Further qPCR findings demonstrated that turmeric oil could significantly inhibit the transcription of <i>aerA</i>, <i>ahyI</i>, and <i>ahyR</i> by a 54-fold, 36-fold, and 56-fold change reduction, respectively. Cell live/dead staining and animal study results showed that turmeric oil could inhibit the pathogenicity of <i>A. hydrophila</i>. Fish treated with turmeric oil showed a reduced mortality rate of 60%, whereas all fish in the positive control group died. Moreover, treatment with turmeric oil could alleviate the renal injury. Collectively, the results suggested that targeting bacterial virulence might be a useful approach to combating bacterial infections, and turmeric oil could serve as a potential agent for combating <i>A. hydrophila</i> infections.
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spelling doaj-art-260889ec1d774399a1ea0a0229fa969c2025-08-20T02:33:38ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372025-04-0114548310.3390/biology14050483Turmeric Oil Interferes with Quorum Sensing as an Alternative Approach to Control <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Infection in AquacultureJing Dong0Jian Tong1Shengping Li2Xinwei Ma3Qiuhong Yang4Yongtao Liu5Shun Zhou6Xizhi Shi7Xiaohui Ai8Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, ChinaYangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, ChinaYangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, ChinaYangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, ChinaYangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, ChinaYangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, ChinaYangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, ChinaKey Laboratory of Aquacultural Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, ChinaYangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, ChinaAquatic products play a crucial role in meeting the increasing global demands for high-quality proteins. However, the occurrence of bacterial diseases results in significant economic losses worldwide. <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> (<i>A. hydrophila</i>) is the pathogen of several fish diseases. Antibiotics were widely used in combating bacterial diseases in aquaculture. The increasing occurrences of antibiotic resistance necessitate the restricted use of antibiotics. Consequently, developing drugs that avoid antibiotic resistance is important for the future of aquaculture. Quorum sensing (QS) is critical for bacterial pathogens in regulating bacterial virulence and is a promising target for developing anti-infective agents. Here, we found that turmeric oil with a MIC of 256 μg/mL could dose-dependently reduce the virulence phenotypes regulated by QS, ranging from 8 to 64 μg/mL, suggesting that sub-inhibitory concentrations of turmeric oil could inhibit bacterial virulence. Further qPCR findings demonstrated that turmeric oil could significantly inhibit the transcription of <i>aerA</i>, <i>ahyI</i>, and <i>ahyR</i> by a 54-fold, 36-fold, and 56-fold change reduction, respectively. Cell live/dead staining and animal study results showed that turmeric oil could inhibit the pathogenicity of <i>A. hydrophila</i>. Fish treated with turmeric oil showed a reduced mortality rate of 60%, whereas all fish in the positive control group died. Moreover, treatment with turmeric oil could alleviate the renal injury. Collectively, the results suggested that targeting bacterial virulence might be a useful approach to combating bacterial infections, and turmeric oil could serve as a potential agent for combating <i>A. hydrophila</i> infections.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/483turmeric oilaquaculture<i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i>quorum sensinganti-infective
spellingShingle Jing Dong
Jian Tong
Shengping Li
Xinwei Ma
Qiuhong Yang
Yongtao Liu
Shun Zhou
Xizhi Shi
Xiaohui Ai
Turmeric Oil Interferes with Quorum Sensing as an Alternative Approach to Control <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Infection in Aquaculture
Biology
turmeric oil
aquaculture
<i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i>
quorum sensing
anti-infective
title Turmeric Oil Interferes with Quorum Sensing as an Alternative Approach to Control <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Infection in Aquaculture
title_full Turmeric Oil Interferes with Quorum Sensing as an Alternative Approach to Control <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Infection in Aquaculture
title_fullStr Turmeric Oil Interferes with Quorum Sensing as an Alternative Approach to Control <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Infection in Aquaculture
title_full_unstemmed Turmeric Oil Interferes with Quorum Sensing as an Alternative Approach to Control <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Infection in Aquaculture
title_short Turmeric Oil Interferes with Quorum Sensing as an Alternative Approach to Control <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Infection in Aquaculture
title_sort turmeric oil interferes with quorum sensing as an alternative approach to control i aeromonas hydrophila i infection in aquaculture
topic turmeric oil
aquaculture
<i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i>
quorum sensing
anti-infective
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/483
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