title: First evidence of amoebae-mycobacteria association in drinking water network.
abstract: Free-living amoebae are protozoa ubiquitously found in water systems. They mainly feed on bacteria by phagocytosis, but some bacterial species are able to resist or even escape this lethal process. Among these amoeba resistant bacteria are numerous members of the genus Mycobacterium. Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic pathogens that share the same ecological niches as amoebae. While several studies have demonstrated the ability of these bacteria to colonise and persist within drinking water networks, there is also strong suspicion that mycobacteria could use amoebae as a vehicle for protection and even replication. We investigated here the presence of NTM and FLA on a drinking water network during an all year round sampling campaign. We observed that 87.6% of recovered amoebal cultures carried high numbers of NTM. Identification of these amoeba and mycobacteria strains indicated that the main genera found in drinking water networks, that is, Acanthamoeba, Vermamoeba, Echinamoeba, and Protacanthamoeba are able to carry and likely to allow replication of several environmental and potentially pathogenic mycobacteria including M. llatzerense and M. chelonae. Direct Sanger sequencing as well as pyrosequencing of environmental isolates demonstrated the frequent association of mycobacteria and FLA, as they are part of the most represented genera composing amoebae's microbiome. This is the first time that an association between FLA and NTM is observed in water networks, highlighting the importance of FLA in the ecology of NTM.
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers , Laboratoire Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, UMR CNRS 7267, Equipes Microbiologie de l'Eau & Ecologie, Evolution, Symbiose, Poitiers 86000, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Delafont
authors.forename: Faïza
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mougari
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cambau
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Joyeux
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bouchon
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Héchard
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moulin
mesh_terms: D000656:Amoeba / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000382:microbiology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D056265:Microbial Interactions; D064307:Microbiota; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S