Bacterial pathogens in coastal aquatic ecosystems pose a potential public health hazard for bathing water use. The European Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) currently relies on the culturability of fecal pollution bacterial indicators such as Escherichia coli, without considering dormant or quiescent (Viable But Not Culturable, VBNC) cells, whose possible resuscitation after bathers ingestio...

Chronic pollution by used lubricant oils (ULOs) poses a serious challenge to the environment. Under stress conditions, microorganisms, including potential degraders, can enter viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state, complicating bioremediation of ULO-polluted areas. Resuscitation-promoting factors (Rpfs) reverse this transition and/or enhance biodegradation performance both native and augmented...

A cellular approach combining Direct Viable Counting and Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization using a one-step multiple-probe technique and Solid Phase Cytometry (DVC-FISH-SPC) was developed to monitor total viable vibrios and cover the detection of a large diversity of vibrios. FISH combined three probes in the same assay and targeted sequences located at different positions on the 16S rRNA of Vi...

The detection sensitivity and potential interference factors of a commonly used assay based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Escherichia coli O157:H7 using eae gene-specific primers were assessed. Animal wastes and soil samples were spiked with known replicate quantities of a nontoxigenic strain of E. coli O157:H7 in a viable or dead state and as unprotected DNA. The detection s...

BACKGROUND A capillary electrophoresis method using UV detection was developed to analyse protein composition of the lysates of two foodborne pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus which were previously treated at different irradiation doses. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Bacterial samples were γ-irradiated at different doses to produce damage cells, to kill cells an...

Although the natural niche for H. pylori is the human stomach, for widespread infection to occur the organism may need to survive in the external environment [1]. Documented evidence relating to the survival of H.pylori outside the gastric niche is extremely limited. However, there are no established culture methods for the detection of viable H. pylori in the environment, in particular drinkin...

AIMS As copper has been previously suggested as an antimicrobial surface, we tested the effectiveness of copper as an antifungal surface which could be used in air-conditioning systems as an alternative to aluminium. METHODS AND RESULTS Coupons of copper (C11000) and aluminium were inoculated with fungal isolates (Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium chrysogenum and Candida albicans) ...

Effects of tetracycline residues from pig manure slurry on the prevalence of tetracycline-resistant bacteria and the tetracycline resistance gene, tet(M), were studied in soil microcosms. Four types of soil microcosms were established for a period of 152 days, supplemented with combinations of pig manure slurry and a tetracycline-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, CG110, containing the tetracycli...