Abstract
Methylobacterium spp. are emerging opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens. Human infections linked to premise plumbing provide evidence of their routes of infection. Cells of a collection of representative strains of different Methylobacterium species were tested for hydrophobicity by contact angle, adherence and biofilm formation on different plumbing materials, and temperature tolerance (50–60 °C); characteristics shared by OPPPs. Methylobacterium spp. strains were shown to grow in drinking water, have high cell-surface hydrophobicity, adhere to pipe surface materials, form biofilms, and survive exposure to high (60° C) temperatures. It can be concluded that Methylobacterium spp. strains share traits in common with other opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs).
Highlights
Opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) are normal microbial residents of drinking water, distribution systems, and premise plumbing [1] which are estimated to cause nearly 30,000 cases of human disease and cost $850 million a year [2]
The experimental approaches were devised to determine whether representative Methylobacterium spp. strains had characteristics found in OPPPs
The findings indicate Methylobacterium spp. are hydrophobic, survive in drinking water, adhere to many plumbing surfaces, form biofilms, and are relatively thermally tolerant
Summary
Opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) are normal microbial residents of drinking water, distribution systems, and premise plumbing [1] which are estimated to cause nearly 30,000 cases of human disease and cost $850 million a year [2]. OPPPs share a number of traits impacting on their ecology, including growth at low oxygen (microaerobic) and organic matter content (oligotrophic), biofilm formation, and resistance to disinfectants [1]. Premise plumbing has a number of features that select for OPPPs, including low organic matter content, heating, periods of stagnation, and different pipe materials for biofilm formation. Methylobacterium spp. share a number of characteristics in common with OPPPs, including: chlorine resistance [20,21,22], biofilm formation [23,24], and desiccation tolerance [23,25]. It is our objective to describe further characteristics of Methylobacterium spp. to reinforce the claim that they are opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens
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