A machine learning classifier was trained to flag interference molecules for the autoinducer-2 quorum sensing system and applied to more than 7,000 phytochemicals. Seventeen dietary polyphenols were taken forward and shown by surface plasmon resonance to bind LuxS and LsrB in Salmonella Typhimurium LT2, with effects on gene expression, bacterial phenotype and epithelial cell adhesion, and some cross-pathogen activity in three other bacterial species. No animal or human work is reported.
Why it is interesting: An early-stage anti-virulence route against drug-resistant pathogens, with the machine learning used for compound discovery and not for any clinical prediction.