Detection of the bacterial quorum-sensing signaling molecules N-acyl-homoserine lactones (HSL) and N-acyl-homoserine (HS) with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and via ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS)

Abstract

Quick and reliable quantitative methods requiring low amounts of sample volume are needed for the detection of N-acyl-homoserine lactones (HSL) and their degradation products N-acyl-homoserines (HS) in order to elucidate the occurrence and dynamics of these prevalent quorum-sensing molecules of Gram-negative bacteria in natural samples and laboratory model experiments. A combination of ELISA and UHPLC-MS is presented here which has proven to meet these requirements. Both methods can not only precisely detect and quantify HSLs but also their degradation products HS and thereby enable studying signaling dynamics in quorum sensing, which have been identified to play an essential role in bacterial communication.