Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from marine environments in Tokyo Bay.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a pathogenic bacterium that has been thoroughly investigated since the 19th century and is generally regarded as a freshwater or terrestrial organism. In 1995, it was reported that the OprP porin, an outer membrane protein corresponding to that of this bacterium, was widely distributed as a dissolved component in seawater. This finding led us to investigate the presence of P. aeruginosa in marine environments. Both culture-independent and -dependent methods were applied to seawater samples obtained in Tokyo Bay during four cruises. The DVC-FA (direct viable count-fluorescent antibody) technique showed that cells reactive to an antibody against P. aeruginosa were widely present in the bay, i.e., 10(3) to 10(4) cells/mL in the inner bay, and 10(2) to 10(3) cells/mL at the mouth. Bacterial cells isolated by selective medium were identified by three methods: the presence of oprI and oprL, two outer membrane lipoprotein genes specific to P. aeruginosa; the API20 NE kit; and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The results confirmed that the majority of isolates from the bay were P. aeruginosa. Immuno-chemical analyses of the seawater results indicate that P. aeruginosa is commonly present in coastal marine environments and sheds OprP.
Kimata
N
N
Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Nakano, Tokyo 164-8639, Japan. kimata@ori.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Nishino
T
T
Suzuki
S
S
Kogure
K
K
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017931:DNA Primers; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D019085:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct; D007564:Japan; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000032:analysis
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C031163:ExcC protein, E coli; D008074:Lipoproteins; D010457:Peptidoglycan; C060507:outer membrane lipoprotein I, Bacteria; D012965:Sodium Chloride