Enumeration and characterization of five pathogenic <i>Legionella</i> species from large research and educational buildings

Logan-Jackson, Alshae' R.; Flood, Matthew; Rose, Joan B.

doi:10.1039/d0ew00893a

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…For example, the culture method takes up to 10 days for results, it is incapable of enumerating viable but non-culturable cells (VBNC), and it is unable to identify Legionella species in a precise manner [50]. However, quantitative assessment using PCR can provide critical results on bacterial and amoebae concentrations to determine if there is amplification at a particular exposure site [51,52]. Digital droplet PCR was very useful and can be used to assess duplex assays for various species, as described in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cooccurrence of Five Pathogenic Legionella spp. and Two Free-Living Amoebae Species in a Complete Drinking Water System and Cooling Towers

Logan-Jackson

Rose

2021

Pathogens

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Pathogenic Legionella species grow optimally inside free-living amoebae to concentrations that increase risks to those who are exposed. The aim of this study was to screen a complete drinking water system and cooling towers for the occurrence of Acanthamoeba spp. and Naegleria fowleri and their cooccurrence with Legionella pneumophila, Legionella anisa, Legionella micdadei, Legionella bozemanii, and Legionella longbeachae. A total of 42 large-volume water samples, including 12 from the reservoir (water source), 24 from two buildings (influents to the buildings and exposure sites (taps)), and six cooling towers were collected and analyzed using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). N. fowleri cooccurred with L. micdadei in 76 (32/42) of the water samples. In the building water system, the concentrations of N. fowleri and L. micdadei ranged from 1.5 to 1.6 Log10 gene copies (GC)/100 mL, but the concentrations of species increased in the cooling towers. The data obtained in this study illustrate the ecology of pathogenic Legionella species in taps and cooling towers. Investigating Legionella’s ecology in drinking and industrial waters will hopefully lead to better control of these pathogenic species in drinking water supply systems and cooling towers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sample concentrations were transformed from (GC)/100 mL into Log 10 GC/100 mL. Biological data were expressed as geometric means, and chemical data were shown as arithmetic means with standard deviation [52]. Statistical results were interpreted at the level of significance p < 0.05.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cooccurrence of Five Pathogenic Legionella spp. and Two Free-Living Amoebae Species in a Complete Drinking Water System and Cooling Towers

Logan-Jackson

Rose

2021

Pathogens

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“…Building plumbing characteristics have been shown to greatly influence tap water quality. Building plumbing properties, including high surface-to-volume ratios, periods of stagnation, and equilibration with building temperatures, create an environment that contributes to the growth of biofilms and high concentrations of certain opportunistic human pathogens (OPs), including NTM (12,13). Although previous studies have found that building plumbing may contribute to high concentrations of NTM, few studies have evaluated the impacts of flushing, seasonal variations, and water quality parameters (14)(15)(16)(17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source-to-Tap Investigation of the Occurrence of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in a Full-Scale Chloraminated Drinking Water System

Dowdell,

Potgieter,

Olsen

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in drinking water are a significant public health concern. However, an incomplete understanding of the factors that influence the occurrence of NTM in drinking water limits our ability to characterize risk and prevent infection. This study sought to evaluate the influence of season and water treatment, distribution, and stagnation on NTM in drinking water. Samples were collected source-to-tap in a full-scale, chloraminated drinking water system approximately monthly from December 2019 to November 2020. NTM were characterized using culture-dependent (plate culture with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry [MALDI-TOF MS] isolate analysis) and culture-independent methods (quantitative PCR and genome resolved metagenomics). Sampling locations included source waters, three locations within the treatment plant, and five buildings receiving water from the distribution system. Building plumbing samples consisted of first draw, five-minute flush, and full flush cold-water samples. As the study took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the influence of reduced water usage in three of the five buildings was also investigated. The highest concentrations of NTM source-to-tap were found in the summer first draw building water samples (107gene copies/L), which also had the lowest chloramine concentrations. Flushing was found to be effective for reducing NTM and restoring disinfectant residuals, though flush times necessary to improve water quality varied by building. Clinically-relevant NTM species, includingMycobacterium avium, were recovered via plate culture, with increased occurrence observed in buildings with higher water age. Four of five NTM metagenome-assembled genomes were identified to the species level and matched identified isolates.

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Building plumbing influences the microdiversity and community assembly of the drinking water microbiome

He,

Huo,

Oosthuizen-Vosloo

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Building plumbing microbial communities can significantly influence water quality at the point of use, particularly during periods of stagnation. Thus, a fine-scale understanding of factors governing community membership and structure, as well as environmental and ecological factors shaping building plumbing microbial communities is critical. In this study, we utilized full-length 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing to investigate the microdiversity and spatial-temporal dynamics of microbial communities in commercial and residential building plumbing systems. Bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within commercial buildings exhibited much lower microdiversity relative to the same OTUs in residential buildings. Microdiversity was associated with higher persistence and relative abundance of OTUs. Interestingly, amplicon sequencing variants within the same OTUs exhibited habitat preferences based on the building type while also demonstrating varying temporal turnover patterns. Dispersal limitation disproportionately governed community assembly in commercial buildings, whereas heterogeneous selection was the dominant ecological mechanism shaping the microbial community in residential buildings. Dispersal limitation in commercial buildings is consistent with larger building sizes and greater periods of water stagnation. Interestingly, the inability to explain the extent of heterogeneous selection-driven community assembly in residential locations using measured water chemistry may suggest a disproportionately large effect of fine-scale variation in plumbing characteristics on community assembly in residential locations.

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Enumeration and characterization of five pathogenic Legionella species from large research and educational buildings

Abstract: This graph compares the potential amplification of Legionella spp. and specific pathogenic species in the premise plumbing of five buildings.

Cited by 6 publications

References 70 publications

Cooccurrence of Five Pathogenic Legionella spp. and Two Free-Living Amoebae Species in a Complete Drinking Water System and Cooling Towers

Cooccurrence of Five Pathogenic Legionella spp. and Two Free-Living Amoebae Species in a Complete Drinking Water System and Cooling Towers

Source-to-Tap Investigation of the Occurrence of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in a Full-Scale Chloraminated Drinking Water System

Building plumbing influences the microdiversity and community assembly of the drinking water microbiome

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