Recovery of Pseudomonas aeruginosa culturability following copper‐ and chlorine‐induced stress

This study investigated how quickly cells of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa recover culturability after exposure to two of the most common environmental stressors present in drinking water, free chlorine and copper ions. Viable but non‐culturable (VBNC) P. aeruginosa undetected by direct culturing following exposure to free chlorine or copper ions can survive in drinking water systems, with potential to recover, multiply and regain infectivity. Cells were exposed to copper sulphate (0.25 mg Cu2+ L−1) or free chlorine (initial dose of 2 mg Cl2 L−1) for 24h. Despite total loss of culturability and a reduction in viability from 1.2x107 to 4x103 cells mL−1 (3.5 log), cells exposed to chlorine recovered viability quickly after the depletion of free chlorine, while culturability was recovered within 24 hours. Copper ions did not depress viability, but reduced culturability from 3x107 to 2.3x102 cells mL−1 (5.1 log); VBNC cells regained culturability immediately after copper ion chelation. A comparison between direct culturing and Pseudalert, a specific enzyme‐based assay, was performed. Both detection methods were well correlated in the range of 102‐1010 cells L−1. However, correlations between the methods declined after exposure to copper ions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Source: FEMS Microbiology Letters - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Research Letter Source Type: research