title: Inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by direct sunlight.
abstract: We determined the sensitivity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to direct sunlight radiation, while maintaining the experimental temperature below levels harmful to the bacterium. The results presented here were similar to previous data on solar sensitivity obtained half a world away on another related bacterial species. The findings presented in this study suggest that related bacteria have a characteristic sensitivity to sunlight with their survival depending mainly on the fluence (photons) received in a dose-dependent manner that is otherwise relatively independent from latitude, atmospheric ozone and other local conditions. Conditions that inactivated P. aeruginosa did not result in measurable impairment of specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA) tests suggesting that this germ could still be amenable to detection after inactivation by sunlight. The results presented in this study should assist in predicting the survival of P. aeruginosa outdoors and in monitoring the risk posed by this widespread organism in a variety of environmental settings.
authors: Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, US Army, Maryland, MD, USA. joseluis.sagripanti@us.army.mil
authors: Jose-Luis
authors: JL
authors: Sagripanti
authors: Gudrun
authors: G
authors: Grote
authors: Bärbel
authors: B
authors: Niederwöhrmeier
authors: Hans-Jürgen
authors: HJ
authors: Marschall
mesh_terms: D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013472:Sunlight