Microbiota sampled from a polluted stream in Recife-PE, Brazil and its importance to public health

Abstract

Pollution of water bodies can cause environmental and public health problems. The Cavouco stream is a tributary of the Capibaribe River, one of the main rivers in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and receives a high pollution load from residential, laboratory and hospital effluents. The aim of the present study was to perform phenotypic and molecular characterization in this stream, and evaluate the water quality using microbiological parameters. Water was collected from five sampling points, and bacterial species were identified using biochemical and molecular methods through 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Total and thermotolerant coliforms were also quantified. Fermenting Gram-negative bacilli from the family Enterobacteriaceae (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis), non-fermenting bacilli (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas putida) and Gram-positive bacilli (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumilus and Staphylococcus hominis) were identified. A total of 25 bacterial isolates were phenotypically identified. All phenotypic identifications were confirmed by molecular analysis, except for S. hominis, which was molecularly identified as Exiguobacterium. Regarding water quality, all analyzed samples were positive for total and thermotolerant coliforms. The results obtained suggest that the Cavouco stream presents a potential risk for transmission of water-borne diseases, because of the presence of pathogenic bacteria. In addition, the current state of the stream also threatens the conservation of its native species.

Aquatic Microbiota: A Systematic Review

“…Aquatic environments are formed by marine and/or freshwater ecosystems. Jiang, 2010 [11], Chu et al, 2018 [12], Skwor et al, 2020 [13], Harmon et al, 2019 [14], Londono et al, 2019 [15], Bared et al, 2013 [16] Mexico Brito et al, 2015 [17] South America Brazil Carvalho et al, 2007 [18], Conte et al, 2021 [19], Regina et al, 2021 [20], Purificação et al, 2017 [21] 6…”

Unlocking the molecular realm: advanced approaches for identifying clinically and environmentally relevant bacteria

“…These methods provide the most probable, but not the definitive, identification of the microorganism. However, intra- and inter-species variations in these phenotypic features can lead to misleading test results ( 3 , 4 ). In this context, the use of molecular methods represents an improvement in the clinical diagnosis of bacterial infections and allows for faster and more accurate taxonomic characterization in clinical and environmental microbiological diagnoses ( 5 ).…”