A Study of Essential Oils' Anti-biofilm Modes of Action that Target Genes Related to Quorum Sensing, Motility, Adhesion, and Pathogenicity

Abstract

Food safety is greatly impacted by biofilms, which also result in significant financial losses. Essential
oils (EOs), one of the innovative methods for managing biofilms, can be an eco-friendly strategy since
they can influence both the early and mature stages of biofilm production. The anti-biofilm modes of
action of essential oils (EOs) against five harmful bacterial species that are known to produce biofilms
are described in this review. These strategies include disrupting the expression of genes linked to
adhesion, pathogenicity, motility, and quorum sensing (QS). Because biofilms and QS are
interdependent processes, EOs affect biofilm formation by interfering with the communication system
(for example, by controlling the expression of the genes agrBDCA, luxR, luxS, and pqsA). Furthermore,
QS is a crucial mechanism that controls the expression of genes linked to the pathogenicity, virulence,
and survival of bacteria. Likewise, EOs affect how many virulence genes are expressed. Additionally,
EOs work by altering the genes linked to bacterial adhesion and motility, such as those that produce
curli (csg), fimbriae (fim, lpf), and flagella (fla, fli, flh, and mot), as well as the ica genes that synthesize
polysaccharide intercellular adhesin by synthesis. For a deeper comprehension of the biofilm
mechanisms of action of EOs, this review offers a thorough foundation on the subject.