Abstract
Multiple passage ofLegionella pneumophila on either supplemented Mueller-Hinton or charcoal yeast extract agar by the conventional batch passing technique results in loss of virulence. In this studyL. pneumophila virulence was maintained after multiple passage on buffered charcoal yeast extract (BCYE α) agar by a single-colony transfer technique. Virulence was determined by assessing the growth ofL. pneumophila for thioglycolate-induced susceptible A/J mouse macrophages in vitro and infectivity for susceptible A/J mice in vivo. Passage of the virulentL. pneumophila, 30 times on BCYE α agar by the single-colony transfer procedure still resulted in virulence, as compared with the nonpassaged parental bacteria, both in vitro and in vivo. Lethality for susceptible, A/J mice by systemic infection was comparable for the 30th colony-passaged bacteria and the parentalL. pneumophila. These results show that theL. pneumophila phenotype associated with intracellular growth in macrophages or infectivity for susceptible mice is stable following passage by the single-colony transfer procedure on BCYE α agar.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Catrenich CE, Johnson W (1988) Virulence conversion ofLegionella pneumophila: a one-way phenomenon. Infect Immun 56:3121–3125
Elliot JA, Johnson W (1982) Virulence conversion ofLegionella pneumophila serogroup 1 by passage in guinea pigs and embryonated eggs. Infect Immun 35:943–946.
Hacker J, Ott M, Ludwig B, Rolest U (1991) Intracellular survival and expression of virulence determinants ofLegionella pneumophila. Infection 19:S198-S201
Horwitz MA (1987) Characterization of avirulent mutantLegionella pneumophila that survive but do not multiply within human monocytes. J Exp Med 166:1310–1328
Horwitz MA, Silverstein SC (1980) The Legionaires' disease bacterium (Legionella pneumophila) multiplies intracellularly in human monocytes. J Clin Invest 66:441–450
Katz SM, Matus JP (1985) Animal models of legionellosis. In: Katz SM (eds) Legionellosis, vol II. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, pp 119–132
Kishimoto RA, White JD, Shirey FG, McGann VG, Berendt RF, Larson EW, Hedlund KW (1981) In vitro response of guinea pig peritoneal macrophages toLegionella pneumophila. Infect Immun 31:1209–1213
McDade JE, Shepard CC (1979) Virulent to avirulent conversion of Legionaires' disease bacterium (Legionella pneumophila)—its effect on isolation techniques. J Infect Dis 139:707–711
Nguyen MH, Stout JE, Yu VL (1991) Legionellosis. Infect Dis Clin North Am 5:561–584
Wong MC, Peacock Jr WL, McKinney RM, Wong K-H (1981)Legionella pneumophila: avirulent to virulent conversion through passage in cultured human embryonic lung fibroblasts. Curr Microbiol 5:31–34
Yamamoto Y, Klein TW, Newton CA, Widen R, Friedman H (1988) Growth ofLegionella pneumophila in thioglycolate-elicited peritoneal macrophages from A/J mice. Infect Immun 56:370–375
Yamamoto Y, Klein TW, Newton CA, Friedman H (1992) Differing macrophage and lymphocyte roles in resistance toLegionella pneumophila infection. J Immunol 148:584–589
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yamamoto, Y., Klein, T.W. & Friedman, H. Legionella pneumophila virulence conserved after multiple single-colony passage on agar. Current Microbiology 27, 241–245 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01692883
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01692883