This paper overviews several examples of important public health impacts by marine microbes and directs readers to the extensive literature germane to these maladies. These examples include three types of dinoflagellates (Gambierdiscus spp., Karenia brevis, and Alexandrium fundyense), BMAA-producing cyanobacteria, and infectious microbes. The dinoflagellates are responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and paralytic shellfish poisoning, respectively, that have plagued coastal populations over time. Research interest on the potential for marine cyanobacteria to contribute BMAA into human food supplies has been derived by BMAA's discovery in cycad seeds and subsequent implication as the putative cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex among the Chamorro people of Guam. Recent UPLC/MS analyses indicate that recent reports that BMAA is prolifically distributed among marine cyanobacteria at high concentrations may be due to analyte misidentification in the analytical protocols being applied for BMAA. Common infectious microbes (including enterovirus, norovirus, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia) cause gastrointestinal and skin-related illness. These microbes can be introduced from external human and animal sources, or they can be indigenous to the marine environment.

P. K. Bienfang

S. V. DeFelice

E. A. Laws

L. E. Brand

R. R. Bidigare

S. Christensen

H. Trapido-Rosenthal

T. K. Hemscheidt

D. J. McGillicuddy

D. M. Anderson

H. M. Solo-Gabriele

A. B. Boehm

L. C. Backer

Prominent Human Health Impacts from Several Marine Microbes: History, Ecology, and Public Health Implications

The in vitro survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 at <svg style="vertical-align:-0.20473pt;width:32.787498px;" id="M1" height="13.1875" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 32.787498 13.1875" width="32.787498" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
	
		
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</svg>
 under two experimental conditions (sterile soil and sterile natural water) was examined. DNA microarrays of the entire set of E. coli O157:H7 genes were used to measure the genomic expression patterns after 14 days. Although the populations declined, some E. coli O157:H7 cells survived in sterile stream water up to 234 days and in sterile soil for up to 179 days. Cells incubated in soil microcosms for 14 days expressed genes for antibiotic resistance, biosynthesis, DNA replication and modification, metabolism, phages, transposons, plasmids, pathogenesis and virulence, antibiotic resistance, ribosomal proteins, the stress response, transcription, translation, and transport and binding proteins at significantly higher levels than cells grown in Luria broth. These results suggest that E. coli O157:H7 may develop a different phenotype during transport through the environment. Furthermore, this pathogen may become more resistant to antibiotics making subsequent infections more difficult to treat.

Ashley D. Duffitt

Robert T. Reber

Andrew Whipple

Christian Chauret

Gene Expression during Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Soil and Water

This timely review primarily addresses important but presently undefined microbial risks to public health and to the natural environment. It specifically focuses on current knowledge, future outlooks and offers some potential alleviation strategies that may reduce or eliminate the risk of problematic microbes in their viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state and Cryptosporidium oocysts in the aquatic environment. As emphasis is placed on water quality, particularly surrounding efficacy of decontamination at the wastewater treatment plant level, this review also touches upon other related emerging issues, namely, the fate and potential ecotoxicological impact of untreated antibiotics and other pharmaceutically active compounds in water. Deciphering best published data has elucidated gaps between science and policy that will help stakeholders work towards the European Union's Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), which provides an ambitious legislative framework for water quality improvements within its region and seeks to restore all water bodies to “good ecological status” by 2015. Future effective risk-based assessment and management, post definition of the plethora of dynamic inter-related factors governing the occurrence, persistence and/or control of these presently undefined hazards in water will also demand exploiting and harnessing tangential advances in allied disciplines such as mathematical and computer modeling that will permit efficient data generation and transparent reporting to be undertaken by well-balanced consortia of stakeholders.

Neil J. Rowan

Defining Established and Emerging Microbial Risks in the Aquatic Environment: Current Knowledge, Implications, and Outlooks

Persistence of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 in the
environment is a major concern to vegetable and fruit growers
where farms and livestock production are in close proximity. The
objectives were to determine the effects of preplant fumigation
treatment on the survival of E. coli O157:H7 in two soils and the
effects of indigenous bacterial populations on the survival of
this pathogen. Real-time PCR and plate counts were used to
quantify the survival of E. coli O157:H7 in two contrasting soils
after fumigation with methyl bromide (MeBr) and methyl iodide
(MeI). Ten days after fumigation, E. coli O157:H7 counts were
significantly lower (<svg style="vertical-align:-0.17555pt;width:63.962502px;" id="M1" height="10.9125" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 63.962502 10.9125" width="63.962502" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
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				<tspan style="font-size: 12.50px; " x="44.810753" y="0">1</tspan>
			</text>

		</g>
	</g>
</svg>) in fumigated soils than in the
non-fumigated. Direct comparison between MeBr and MeI within each
soil indicated that these two fumigants showed similar impacts on
E. coli O157:H7 survival. Microbial species diversity as
determined by DGGE was significantly higher in clay soil than
sandy soil and this resulted in higher initial decline in
population in clay soil than in sandy soil. This study shows that
if soil is contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, fumigation alone may
not eliminate the pathogen, but may cause decrease in microbial
diversity which may enhance the survival of the pathogen.

A. Mark Ibekwe

Sharon K. Papiernik

Catherine M. Grieve

Ching-Hong Yang

Quantification of Persistence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Contrasting Soils

Tularemia, caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis, where F. tularensis subspecies holarctica has long been the cause of endemic disease in parts of northern Sweden. Despite this, our understanding of the natural life-cycle of the organism is still limited. During three years, we collected surface water samples (<svg style="vertical-align:-0.1638pt;width:52.5625px;" id="M1" height="11.125" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 52.5625 11.125" width="52.5625" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
	
		
			<g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,.062,10.862)"><path id="x1D45B" d="M495 86q-46 -47 -87 -72.5t-63 -25.5q-43 0 -16 107l49 210q7 34 8 50.5t-3 21t-13 4.5q-35 0 -109.5 -72.5t-115.5 -140.5q-21 -75 -38 -159q-50 -10 -76 -21l-6 8l84 340q8 35 -4 35q-17 0 -67 -46l-15 26q44 44 85.5 70.5t64.5 26.5q35 0 10 -103l-24 -98h2&#xA;q42 56 97 103.5t96 71.5q46 26 74 26q9 0 16 -2.5t14 -11.5t9.5 -24.5t-1 -44t-13.5 -68.5q-30 -117 -47 -200q-4 -19 -3.5 -25t6.5 -6q21 0 70 48z" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,13.305,10.862)"><path id="x3D" d="M535 323h-483v50h483v-50zM535 138h-483v50h483v-50z" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,28.008,10.862)"><path id="x33" d="M285 378v-2q65 -13 102 -54.5t37 -97.5q0 -57 -30.5 -104.5t-74 -75t-85.5 -42t-72 -14.5q-31 0 -59.5 11t-40.5 23q-19 18 -16 36q1 16 23 33q13 10 24 0q58 -51 124 -51q55 0 88 40t33 112q0 64 -39 96.5t-88 32.5q-29 0 -64 -11l-6 29q77 25 118 57.5t41 84.5&#xA;q0 45 -26.5 69.5t-68.5 24.5q-67 0 -120 -79l-20 20l43 63q51 56 127 56h1q66 0 107 -37t41 -95q0 -42 -31 -71q-22 -23 -68 -54z" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,36.168,10.862)"><path id="x34" d="M456 178h-96v-72q0 -51 12.5 -62.5t72.5 -16.5v-27h-256v27q65 5 78 17t13 62v72h-260v28q182 271 300 426h40v-407h96v-47zM280 225v295h-2q-107 -148 -196 -295h198z" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,44.327,10.862)"><path id="x31" d="M384 0h-275v27q67 5 81.5 18.5t14.5 68.5v385q0 38 -7.5 47.5t-40.5 10.5l-48 2v24q85 15 178 52v-521q0 -55 14.5 -68.5t82.5 -18.5v-27z" /></g>

		
	
</svg>) and sediment samples (<svg style="vertical-align:-0.1638pt;width:52.5625px;" id="M2" height="11.125" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 52.5625 11.125" width="52.5625" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
	
		
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</svg>) in two areas in Sweden with endemic tularemia. Real-time PCR screening demonstrated the presence of F. tularenis lpnA sequences in 108 (32&#x25;) and 48 (20&#x25;) of the samples, respectively. The 16S rRNA sequences from those samples all grouped to the species F. tularensis. Analysis of the FtM19InDel region of lpnA-positive samples from selected sampling points confirmed the presence of F. tularensis subspecies holarctica-specific sequences. These sequences were detected in water sampled during both outbreak and nonoutbreak years. Our results indicate that diverse F. tularensis-like organisms, including F. tularensis subsp. holarctica, persist in natural waters and sediments in the investigated areas with endemic tularemia.

T. Broman

J. Thelaus

A.-C. Andersson

S. Bäckman

P. Wikström

E. Larsson

M. Granberg

L. Karlsson

E. Bäck

H. Eliasson

R. Mattsson

A. Sjöstedt

M. Forsman

Molecular Detection of Persistent Francisella tularensis Subspecies holarctica in Natural Waters

Poor sanitation, poor treatments of waste water, as well as catastrophic floods introduce pathogenic bacteria into rivers, infecting and killing many people. The goal of clean water for everyone has to be achieved with a still growing human population and their rapid concentration in large cities, often megacities. How long introduced pathogens survive in rivers and what their niches are remain poorly known but essential to control water-borne diseases in megacities. Biofilms are often niches for various pathogens because they possess high resistances against environmental stress. They also facilitate gene transfers of antibiotic resistance genes which become an increasing health problem. Beside biofilms, amoebae are carriers of pathogenic bacteria and niches for their survival. An overview about our current understanding of the fate and niches of pathogens in rivers, the multitude of microbial community interactions, and the impact of severe flooding, a prerequisite to control pathogens in polluted rivers, is given.

Wolf-Rainer Abraham

Megacities as Sources for Pathogenic Bacteria in  Rivers and Their Fate Downstream

The amazing repertoire of glycoconjugates present on bacterial cell surfaces includes lipopolysaccharides, capsular polysaccharides, lipooligosaccharides, exopolysaccharides, and glycoproteins. While the former are constituents of Gram-negative cells, we review here the cell surface S-layer glycoproteins of Gram-positive bacteria. S-layer glycoproteins have the unique feature of self-assembling into 2D lattices providing a display matrix for glycans with periodicity at the nanometer scale. Typically, bacterial S-layer glycans are O-glycosidically linked to serine, threonine, or tyrosine residues, and they rely on a much wider variety of constituents, glycosidic linkage types, and structures than their eukaryotic counterparts. As the S-layer glycome of several bacteria is unravelling, a picture of how S-layer glycoproteins are biosynthesized is evolving. X-ray crystallography experiments allowed first insights into the catalysis mechanism of selected enzymes. In the future, it will be exciting to fully exploit the S-layer glycome for glycoengineering purposes and to link it to the bacterial interactome.

Robin Ristl

Kerstin Steiner

Kristof Zarschler

Sonja Zayni

Paul Messner

Christina Schäffer

The S-Layer Glycome—Adding to the Sugar Coat of Bacteria

The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) comprises at least 17 closely-related species of the <svg style="vertical-align:-3.56265pt;width:10px;" id="M1" height="16.6625" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 10 16.6625" width="10" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
	
		
			<g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,.062,12.162)"><path id="x1D6FD" d="M558 587q0 -32 -14 -61t-40 -53.5t-48.5 -41t-54.5 -36.5q144 -51 144 -174q0 -55 -43.5 -108t-104.5 -87q-77 -42 -131 -42q-31 0 -54 20t-31 47l11 18q48 -29 108 -29q79 0 119.5 43t40.5 109t-44.5 107.5t-119.5 50.5l22 47q34 1 65 21q96 61 96 157q0 42 -24 67.5&#xA;t-62 25.5q-24 0 -43.5 -9t-35 -29.5t-27 -44t-22.5 -63t-19.5 -75.5t-18.5 -91q-57 -294 -68 -380q-26 -190 -35 -200q-26 -31 -97 -37l-4 26q19 9 48 170l77 413q23 121 52.5 187.5t83.5 114.5q70 62 148 62q51 0 88.5 -34t37.5 -91z" /></g>

		
	
</svg>-proteobacteria subdivision, widely distributed in natural and man-made inhabitats. Bcc bacteria are endowed with an extraordinary metabolic diversity and emerged in the 1980s as life-threatening and difficult-to-treat pathogens among patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. More recently, these bacteria became recognized as a threat to hospitalized patients suffering from other diseases, in particular oncological patients. In the present paper, we review these and other traits of Bcc bacteria, as well as some of the strategies used to identify and validate the virulence factors and determinants used by these bacteria. The identification and characterization of these virulence factors is expected to lead to the design of novel therapeutic strategies to fight the infections caused by these emergent multidrug resistant human pathogens.

Sílvia A. Sousa

Christian G. Ramos

Jorge H. Leitão

Burkholderia cepacia Complex: Emerging Multihost Pathogens Equipped with a Wide Range of Virulence Factors and Determinants

We investigated the impact of parenteral antibiotic treatment in the early neonatal period on the evolution of bifidobacteria in the newborn. Nine babies treated with intravenous ampicillin/gentamicin in the first week of life and nine controls (no antibiotic treatment) were studied. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to investigate the composition of Bifidobacterium in stool samples taken at four and eight weeks. Bifidobacteria were detected in all control infants at both four and eight weeks, while only six of nine antibiotic-treated infants had detectable bifidobacteria at four weeks and eight of nine at eight weeks. Moreover, stool samples of controls showed greater diversity of Bifidobacterium spp. compared with antibiotic-treated infants. In conclusion, short-term parenteral antibiotic treatment of neonates causes a disturbance in the expected colonization pattern of bifidobacteria in the first months of life. Further studies are required to probiotic determine if supplementation is necessary in this patient group.

Séamus Hussey

Rebecca Wall

Emma Gruffman

Lisa O'Sullivan

C. Anthony Ryan

Brendan Murphy

Gerald Fitzgerald

Catherine Stanton

R. Paul Ross

Parenteral Antibiotics Reduce Bifidobacteria Colonization and Diversity in Neonates

About this journal

International Journal of Microbiology publishes papers on microorganisms and their interaction with hosts and the environment. The journal covers all microbes, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and protozoa.

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Chief Editor, Professor Urakawa, is currently based at Florida Gulf Coast University as Professor of Marine and Ecological Sciences and has a background in Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology.

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International Journal of Microbiology - Table of contents 2011

International Journal of Microbiology | Hindawi

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International Journal of Microbiology publishes papers on microorganisms and their interaction with hosts and the environment. The journal covers all microbes, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and protozoa.

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