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PeerJ 2018[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3269.].
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3269.].
PubMed: 30280008
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3269/correction-1 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2021Coastal zones are exposed to various anthropogenic impacts, such as different types of wastewater pollution, e.g., treated wastewater discharges, leakage from sewage...
Coastal zones are exposed to various anthropogenic impacts, such as different types of wastewater pollution, e.g., treated wastewater discharges, leakage from sewage systems, and agricultural and urban runoff. These various inputs can introduce allochthonous organic matter and microbes, including pathogens, into the coastal marine environment. The presence of fecal bacterial indicators in the coastal environment is usually monitored using traditional culture-based methods that, however, fail to detect their uncultured representatives. We have conducted a year-around survey of the pelagic microbiome of the dynamic coastal ecosystem, subjected to different anthropogenic pressures to depict the seasonal and spatial dynamics of traditional and alternative fecal bacterial indicators. To provide an insight into the environmental conditions under which bacterial indicators thrive, a suite of environmental factors and bacterial community dynamics were analyzed concurrently. Analyses of 16S rRNA amplicon sequences revealed that the coastal microbiome was primarily structured by seasonal changes regardless of the distance from the wastewater pollution sources. On the other hand, fecal bacterial indicators were not affected by seasons and accounted for up to 34% of the sequence proportion for a given sample. Even more so, traditional fecal indicator bacteria () and alternative wastewater-associated bacteria (, , and ) were part of the core coastal microbiome, i.e., present at all sampling stations. Microbial source tracking and Lagrangian particle tracking, which we employed to assess the potential pollution source, revealed the importance of riverine water as a vector for transmission of allochthonous microbes into the marine system. Further phylogenetic analysis showed that the in our data set was affiliated with the pathogenic , suggesting that a potential exposure risk for bacterial pathogens in anthropogenically impacted coastal zones remains. We emphasize that molecular analyses combined with statistical and oceanographic models may provide new insights for environmental health assessment and reveal the potential source and presence of microbial indicators, which are otherwise overlooked by a cultivation approach.
PubMed: 35111137
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.765091 -
Journal of Food Protection Oct 2017Campylobacter and Arcobacter spp. are common causes of gastroenteritis in humans; these infections are commonly due to undercooked poultry. However, their virulence...
Campylobacter and Arcobacter spp. are common causes of gastroenteritis in humans; these infections are commonly due to undercooked poultry. However, their virulence mechanism is still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of genotypic virulence markers in Campylobacter and Arcobacter species using PCR. The prevalence of virulence and cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) genes was estimated in 71 Campylobacteraceae isolates. PCR was used to detect the presence of virulence genes (iam, cadF, virB1, flaA, cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC) using specific primers for a total of 45 Campylobacter isolates, including 37 C. jejuni and 8 C. coli. All the Campylobacter isolates were positive for the cadF gene. The plasmid gene virB11 was not detected in any strain. The invasion associated marker was not detected in C. jejuni. Lower detection rates were observed for flaA, cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC. The presence of nine putative Arcobacter virulence genes (cadF, ciaB, cj1349, mviN, pldA, tlyA, irgA, hecA, and hecB) was checked in a set of 22 Arcobacter butzleri and 4 Arcobacter cryaerophilus isolates. The pldA and mviN genes were predominant (88.64%). Lower detection rates were observed for tlyA (84.76%), ciaB (84.61%), cadF and cj1349 (76.92%), IrgA and hecA (61.53%), and hecB (57.69%). The findings revealed that a majority of the Campylobacteraceae strains have these putative virulence genes that may lead to pathogenic effects in humans.
Topics: Animals; Arcobacter; Campylobacter; Campylobacter jejuni; Humans; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Poultry; Prevalence; Tunisia; Virulence; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 28906158
DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-16-509 -
Revista Espanola de Quimioterapia :... Jun 2021
Topics: Arcobacter; Child; Humans; Spain; Species Specificity
PubMed: 33810639
DOI: 10.37201/req/134.2020 -
Revista Do Instituto de Medicina... Nov 2017Arcobacter cryaerophilus is an emerging enteropathogen and potential zoonotic agent transmitted by food and water. In Costa Rica, this bacterium has not been associated...
Arcobacter cryaerophilus is an emerging enteropathogen and potential zoonotic agent transmitted by food and water. In Costa Rica, this bacterium has not been associated with cases of human gastroenteritis, even though it has been isolated from farm animals, especially poultry. This paper reports the first isolation of A. cryaerophilus from a human case of bloody watery diarrhea and the virulence genes associated with this isolate.
Topics: Animals; Arcobacter; Chickens; Costa Rica; Diarrhea; Female; Food Microbiology; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections; Humans; Meat; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Virulence; Young Adult
PubMed: 29116292
DOI: 10.1590/S1678-9946201759072 -
MicrobiologyOpen Feb 2017The human food-borne pathogens Arcobacter butzleri and A. cryaerophilus have been frequently isolated from the intestinal tracts and fecal samples of different farm...
The human food-borne pathogens Arcobacter butzleri and A. cryaerophilus have been frequently isolated from the intestinal tracts and fecal samples of different farm animals and, after excretion, these microorganisms can contaminate the environment, including the aquatic one. In this regard, A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus have been detected in seawater and bivalves of coastal areas which are affected by fecal contamination. The capability of bivalve hemocytes to interact with bacteria has been proposed as the main factor inversely conditioning their persistence in the bivalve. In this study, 12 strains of Arcobacter spp. were isolated between January and May 2013 from bivalves of Central Adriatic Sea of Italy in order to examine their genetic diversity as well as in vitro interactions with bivalve components of the immune response, such as hemocytes. Of these, seven isolates were A. butzleri and five A. cryaerophilus, and were genetically different. All strains showed ability to induce spreading and respiratory burst of Mytilus galloprovincialis hemocytes. Overall, our data demonstrate the high genetic diversity of these microorganisms circulating in the marine study area. Moreover, the Arcobacter-bivalve interaction suggests that they do not have a potential to persist in the tissues of M. galloprovincialis.
Topics: Animals; Arcobacter; Bivalvia; DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; Feces; Hemocytes; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Italy; Molecular Typing; Oceans and Seas; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Respiratory Burst; Seawater
PubMed: 27650799
DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.400 -
BioMed Research International 2016The genus includes species considered emerging food and waterborne pathogens. Despite has been linked to the presence of faecal pollution, few studies have...
The genus includes species considered emerging food and waterborne pathogens. Despite has been linked to the presence of faecal pollution, few studies have investigated its prevalence in wastewater, and the only isolated species were and . This study aimed to establish the prevalence of spp. at a WWTP using in parallel two culturing methods (direct plating and culturing after enrichment) and a direct detection by m-PCR. In addition, the genetic diversity of the isolates was established using the ERIC-PCR genotyping method. Most of the wastewater samples (96.7%) were positive for and a high genetic diversity was observed among the 651 investigated isolates that belonged to 424 different ERIC genotypes. However, only few strains persisted at different dates or sampling points. The use of direct plating in parallel with culturing after enrichment allowed recovering the species A. , A. , , , , , , and , most of them isolated for the first time from wastewater. The predominant species was A. , however, by direct plating predominated A. . Therefore, the overall predominance of A. was a bias associated with the use of enrichment.
Topics: Aerobiosis; Arcobacter; Bacteriological Techniques; Biodiversity; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Species Specificity; Wastewater; Water Purification
PubMed: 27981053
DOI: 10.1155/2016/8132058 -
PloS One 2021The Rimac river is the main source of water for Lima, Peru's capital megacity. The river is constantly affected by different types of contamination including mine...
The Rimac river is the main source of water for Lima, Peru's capital megacity. The river is constantly affected by different types of contamination including mine tailings in the Andes and urban sewage in the metropolitan area. In this work, we aim to produce the first characterization of aquatic bacterial communities in the Rimac river using a 16S rRNA metabarcoding approach which would be useful to identify bacterial diversity and potential understudied pathogens. We report a lower diversity in bacterial communities from the Lower Rimac (Metropolitan zone) in comparison to other sub-basins. Samples were generally grouped according to their geographical location. Bacterial classes Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidia, Campylobacteria, Fusobacteriia, and Gammaproteobacteria were the most frequent along the river. Arcobacter cryaerophilus (Campylobacteria) was the most frequent species in the Lower Rimac while Flavobacterium succinicans (Bacteroidia) and Hypnocyclicus (Fusobacteriia) were the most predominant in the Upper Rimac. Predicted metabolic functions in the microbiota include bacterial motility and quorum sensing. Additional metabolomic analyses showed the presence of some insecticides and herbicides in the Parac-Upper Rimac and Santa Eulalia-Parac sub-basins. The dominance in the Metropolitan area of Arcobacter cryaerophilus, an emergent pathogen associated with fecal contamination and antibiotic multiresistance, that is not usually reported in traditional microbiological quality assessments, highlights the necessity to apply next-generation sequencing tools to improve pathogen surveillance. We believe that our study will encourage the integration of omics sciences in Peru and its application on current environmental and public health issues.
Topics: Aquatic Organisms; Arcobacter; Computational Biology; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; Environmental Monitoring; Flavobacterium; Fusobacteria; Microbiota; Peru; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Rivers; Sewage; Water; Water Microbiology; Water Pollution
PubMed: 33886647
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250401 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Nov 2021Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as plasmids or integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) are widely involved in the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistant genes...
Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as plasmids or integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) are widely involved in the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs), but their environmental host-range and reservoirs remain poorly known, as mainly assessed through the analysis of culturable and clinical bacterial isolates. In this study, we used a gradual approach for determining the environmental abundance and host-range of ICEs belonging to the SXT/R391 family, otherwise well known to bring ARGs in Vibrio spp. epidemic clones and other pathogens. First, by screening a set of aquatic bacteria libraries covering 1794 strains, we found that almost 1% of the isolates hosted an SXT/R391 element, all belonging to a narrow group of non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae. However, when SXT/R391 ICEs were then quantified in various aquatic communities, they appeared to be ubiquitous and relatively abundant, from 10 to 10 ICE copies per 16 S rDNA. Finally, the molecular exploration of the SXT/R391 host-range in two river ecosystems impacted by anthropogenic activities, using the single-cell genomic approach epicPCR, revealed several new SXT/R391 hosts mostly in the Proteobacteria phylum. Some, such as the pathogen Arcobacter cryaerophilus (Campylobacteraceae), have only been encountered in discharged treated wastewaters and downstream river waters, thus revealing a likely anthropogenic origin. Others, such as the non-pathogenic bacterium Neptunomonas acidivorans (Oceanospirillaceae), were solely identified in rivers waters upstream and downstream the treated wastewaters discharge points and may intrinsically belong to the SXT/R391 environmental reservoir. This work points out that not only the ICEs of the SXT/R391 family are more abundant in the environment than anticipated, but also that a variety of unsuspected hosts may well represent a missing link in the environmental dissemination of MGEs from and to bacteria of anthropogenic origin.
Topics: Arcobacter; Conjugation, Genetic; Ecosystem; Host Specificity; Oceanospirillaceae
PubMed: 34218080
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117673 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Jul 2020Leptospirosis is one of the most significant zoonoses across the world not only because of its impact on human and animal health but also because of the economic and...
BACKGROUND
Leptospirosis is one of the most significant zoonoses across the world not only because of its impact on human and animal health but also because of the economic and social impact on agrarian communities. Leptospirosis is endemic in Sri Lanka where paddy farming activities, the use of draught animals in agriculture, and peridomestic animals in urban and rural areas play important roles in maintaining the infection cycle of pathogenic Leptospira, especially concerning animals as a potential reservoir. In this study, an environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding methodology was applied in two different agro-ecological regions of Sri Lanka to understand the eco-epidemiology of leptospirosis.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Irrigation water samples were collected in Kandy District (wet zone mid-country region 2) and Girandurukotte, Badulla District (intermediate zone low-country region 2); and analysed for the presence of pathogenic Leptospira, associated microbiome and the potential reservoir animals. Briefly, we generated PCR products for high-throughput sequencing of multiple amplicons through next-generation sequencing. The analysis of eDNA showed different environmental microbiomes in both regions and a higher diversity of Leptospira species circulating in Kandy than in Girandurukotte. Moreover, the number of sequence reads of pathogenic Leptospira species associated with clinical cases such as L. interrogans was higher in Kandy than in Girandurukotte. Kandy also showed more animal species associated with pathogenic bacterial species than Girandurukotte. Finally, several pathogenic bacterial species including Arcobacter cryaerophilus, responsible for abortion in animals, was shown to be associated with pathogenic Leptospira.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE
Leptospirosis has been considered to be endemic in wet regions, consistently, leptospiral sequences were detected strongly in Kandy. The great Leptospira species diversity in Kandy observed in this study shows that the etiological agents of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka might be underestimated. Furthermore, our eDNA metabarcoding can be used to discriminate bacterial and animal species diversity in different regions and to explore environmental microbiomes to identify other associated bacterial pathogens in the environment.
Topics: Agricultural Irrigation; Animals; DNA, Bacterial; DNA, Environmental; Fresh Water; Humans; Leptospira; Leptospirosis; Phylogeny; Sri Lanka; Zoonoses
PubMed: 32701971
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008437