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Unusual pathogenic bacterium isolated from microbial communities of bioaerosols at Chilean Patagonian lakes

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Abstract

Bioaerosols are transported from warm regions and lower latitudes of the planet to colder regions and higher latitudes, such as the Chilean Patagonia. The role of bioaerosols deposition in remote lake ecosystems is a potentially important process, but it has not yet been fully studied. The aim of this study was to detect and characterize potentially pathogenic viable microorganisms in bioaerosols in a pristine area. Samples were collected from the air, at three remote lakes in the Chilean Patagonia, using a sterile filtration system equipped with 0.2-μm-pore-size nitrocellulose filters. The bacterial community present in bioaerosols was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Isolates were identified and characterized for phenotypic and 16S rDNA analysis and antibiotic resistance. SEM observations of samples from each lake showed the presence of bacteria with different morphologies, and after culturing, the identification results revealed that they were strains of Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Edwarsiella, Pseudomonas, Burklolderia, Moraxella, Sphingomonas and CDC NO-1. CDC NO-1, uncommonly isolated worldwide, stands out from the rest of the isolates because it is a rarely found bacterium so far associated with dog and cat bites and was found at two out of three pristine lakes studied (Alto and Verde). This work demonstrates, for the first time, the presence of CDC NO-1, a clinically important Gram-negative microorganism, in bioaerosols and first report of CDC-NO1 isolation in Chile. Besides its presence in remote lakes, its antibiotic resistance is worth mentioning.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Conicyt Project No. 24110114 and DIUC Project: 211.36.39.1. The authors also thank Jorge Jimenez, PhD, of the University of Concepción, Chile.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microbiology Department, Biological Science Faculty, University of Concepción, P.O. Box 160-C, Mail 3, Concepción, Chile

    Guisella Escalante, Carla G. León, Benner Giacomozzi, Victor Guzmán, María Angélica Mondaca, Carlos Smith & Víctor L. Campos

  2. EULA-CHILE Center, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile

    Guisella Escalante & Roberto Urrutia

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  1. Guisella Escalante
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  2. Carla G. León
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  8. Víctor L. Campos
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Correspondence to Víctor L. Campos.

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Escalante, G., León, C.G., Giacomozzi, B. et al. Unusual pathogenic bacterium isolated from microbial communities of bioaerosols at Chilean Patagonian lakes. Aerobiologia 30, 323–331 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-014-9330-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-014-9330-x

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