Quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) are promising alternatives to antibiotics, but they are discharged into the environment after their use cycle. This poses joint effects on the organisms in the environment. Therefore, it is of great importance to study the combined toxicities of QSIs and antibiotics. In this study, we investigated the single and combined toxicities of four potential QSIs and 11 sulfonamides (SAs) on Escherichia coli. The results revealed that the single toxicities of SAs were greater than those of QSIs, and the toxicities were found positively related to the binding energies (Ebind) with their target proteins, for both antibiotics and QSIs. The combined toxicities of the binary mixtures were observed to be either antagonism or addition. The antagonism could be explained by the phenomenon that QSIs changed SAs molecules into ionic forms, preventing the SA molecules entering the bacteria. Furthermore, it was found that the ratios of the effective concentration (the actual concentration involved in the interaction with the proteins) in the antagonistic cases were higher than those in the additive cases. This study would benefit both rational use of the drug combination and ecological risk assessment of antibiotics and QSIs in the real environment.
Keywords: E. coli; SAR; combined toxicities; quorum sensing inhibitors; sulphonamide.