Diversity of Mycobacteriaceae from aquatic environment at the São Paulo Zoological Park Foundation in Brazil.

Camila Lopes Romagnoli,Michelle Christiane Da Silva Rabello,Sylvia Cardoso Leão,Katia Cristina Machado Pellegrino,Cristina Viana-Niero,Urze Adomaitis Brianesi,Natalia Maria Silva,Cristiane Thompson

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0227759

Camila Lopes Romagnoli, Michelle Christiane Da Silva Rabello + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227759

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Abstract

We investigated the species diversity of Mycobacteriaceae in surface water samples from six environments at the zoological park in São Paulo, Brazil. Three hundred and eighty isolates were cultivated and identified by phenotypic characteristics (growth rate and pigmentation) and sequencing of hsp65, rpoB and 16S rRNA genes. The results revealed that almost 48% of the isolates could be identified at the species level; about 50% were classified at the genus level, and only less than 2% of the isolates showed an inconclusive identification. The isolates classified at the genus level and not identified were then evaluated by phylogenetic analyses using the same three concatenated target genes. The results allowed us to identify at the genus level some isolates that previously had inconclusive identification, and they also suggested the presence of putative candidate species within the sample, demonstrating that this zoological park is an important source of diversity.

Highlights

A comparative genomic analysis among 150 species of the genus Mycobacterium based on core proteins has shown the existence of distinct monophyletic groups, leading to the division of the genus into five distinctive genera [1,2]
This study aimed to determine the diversity of these bacteria in water samples in a zoological park during a period of twelve months
Most of the isolates were recovered during the warmest period of the year and from eutrophic environments, in accordance with data already described in other studies [38,39,40,41]

Summary

Introduction

A comparative genomic analysis among 150 species of the genus Mycobacterium based on core proteins has shown the existence of distinct monophyletic groups, leading to the division of the genus into five distinctive genera [1,2]. The genera of the family Mycobacteriaceae were named Mycobacterium, which includes all of the major human pathogens, namely Mycolicibacterium, Mycolicibacter, Mycolicibacillus and Mycobacteroides, corresponding to the “Fortuitum-Vaccae”, “Terrae”, “Triviale” and “Abscessus-Chelonae” clades, respectively. Most species of the family Mycobacteriaceae are considered saprophytic microorganisms and inhabitants of several natural environments, such as lakes, rivers, swamps, soils and environments influenced by humans, such as water treatment and distribution systems [3,4,5,6,7]. Apart from that, genome analysis of M. brisbanense (UM_WWY) has revealed the presence of genes associated with nitrogen and urea cycles, suggesting that their use in soil may result in the synthesis of urea, favoring plant growth [12]

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