Abstract
Both Mycobacterium spp. and Methylobacterium spp. are opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens that are found on pipe surfaces in households. However, examination of data published in prior microbiological surveys indicates that Methylobacterium spp. and Mycobacterium spp. tend not to coexist in the same household plumbing biofilms. That evidence led us to test the hypothesis that Methylobacterium spp. in biofilms could inhibit the adherence of Mycobacterium avium. Measurements of adherence of M. avium cells to stainless steel coupons using both culture and PCR-based methods showed that the presence of Methylobacterium spp. biofilms substantially reduced M. avium adherence and vice versa. That inhibition of M. avium adherence was not reduced by UV-irradiation, cyanide/azide exposure, or autoclaving of the Methylobacterium spp. biofilms. Further, there was no evidence of the production of anti-mycobacterial compounds by biofilm-grown Methylobacterium spp. cells. The results add to understanding of the role of microbial interactions in biofilms as a driving force in the proliferation or inhibition of opportunistic pathogens in premise plumbing, and provide a potential new avenue by which M. avium exposures may be reduced for at-risk individuals.
Highlights
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic human pathogens whose source of infection is the environment [1]
The data are consistent with the observations that Methylobacterium spp. and M. avium seldom are present in the same plumbing biofilm samples [15,16]
The data support the hypothesis that the physical presence of either Methylobacterium spp. or M. avium in biofilms inhibits the adherence of the other species
Summary
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic human pathogens whose source of infection is the environment [1]. Mycobacterium species are found in drinking water distribution systems [2], hospitals [3], and household plumbing [4], and cause life-threatening pulmonary infections [5] that are difficult to treat [6]. The most common species associated with pulmonary infection in the United States is Mycobacterium avium [5,6]. The incidence of NTM disease in the United States and Canada is rising [7,8]. In Toronto (Canada), NTM disease incidence has risen from 1.5 to 9.0 per 100,000 over the period 1997–2003 [7]. NTM disease is increasing in the United States, based on reports of NTM lung disease in hospitalized persons [8]. A major contributor to this increase is the fact that elderly, slender women, lacking any of the classic risk factors for NTM disease, have a greater tendency than the general population to develop
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