Survival of Mycobacterium avium attached to polyethylene  terephtalate (PET) water bottles.
OBJECTIVE
The main objective of our study was to assess the persistence of Mycobacterium avium in an oligotrophic environment such as bottled groundwater.


RESULTS
Filtered groundwater samples were spiked with washed Myco. avium suspension and stored in dark and under static conditions, at 20 degrees C, for 3 months in 500 ml PET bottles. The loss of Myco. avium cultivability was slow in water. On the contrary, after a 3-month storage at 20 degrees C, growth of attached cells was observed and cell adhesiveness to the PET wall increased with time. It could probably be because of the presence of an extracellular matrix.


CONCLUSIONS
This study has shown the great stability of Myco. avium in bulk water as well as their adhesiveness and their growth on a PET bottle wall in an oligotrophic environment.


CONCLUSIONS
Slowly growing mycobacteria are well adapted to oligotrophic environments such as groundwater. As they stick very well to surfaces, they could be used for determining the efficiency of the cleaning of contaminated surfaces.
Tatchou-Nyamsi-König
J-A
JA
Laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Microbiologie pour l'Environnement (LCPME), UMR 7564 CNRS, Nancy-Université, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.
Dailloux
M
M
Block
J-C
JC
D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008900:Mineral Waters / Q000382:microbiology*; D009162:Mycobacterium avium / Q000254:growth & development*; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D019064:Product Packaging; D013997:Time Factors; D014871:Water Microbiology
D008900:Mineral Waters; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates