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S G Berk

Publications and source records attributed to S G Berk.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Occurrence of infected amoebae in cooling towers compared with natural aquatic environments: implications for emerging pathogens.

Many species of bacteria pathogenic to humans, such as Legionella, are thought to have evolved in association with amoebal hosts. Several novel unculturable bacteria related to Legionella have also been found in amoebae, a few of which have been thought to be causes of nosocomial infections in humans. Because amoebae can be found in cooling towers, we wanted to know whether cooling tower environments might enhance the association between amoebae and bacterial pathogens of amoebae in order to identify potential "hot spots" for emerging human pathogens. To compare occurrence of infected amoebae in natural environments with those in cooling towers, 40 natural aquatic environments and 40 cooling tower samples were examined. Logistic regression analysis determined variables that were significant predictors of the occurrence of infected amoebae, which were found in 22 of 40 cooling tower samples but in only 3 of the 40 natural samples. An odds ratio showed that it is over 16 times more likely to encounter infected amoebae in cooling towers than in natural environments. Environmental data from cooling towers and natural habitats combined revealed dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and pH were predictors of the occurrence of the pathogens, however, when cooling tower data alone were analyzed, no variables accounted for the occurrence. Several bacteria have novel rRNA sequences, and most strains were not culturable outside of amoebae. Such pathogens of amoebae may spread to the environment via aerosols from cooling towers. Studies of emerging infectious diseases should strongly consider cooling towers as a source of amoeba-associated pathogens.

Air Conditioning↗
PubMed2005

Enhanced survival of Salmonella enterica in vesicles released by a soilborne Tetrahymena species.

Nondestructive ingestion by soilborne protozoa may enhance the environmental resiliency of important bacterial pathogens and may model how such bacteria evade destruction in human macrophages. Here, the interaction of Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson with a soilborne Tetrahymena sp. isolate was examined using serovar Thompson cells labeled with the green fluorescent protein. The bacteria were mixed in solution with cells of Tetrahymena at several ratios. During incubation with serovar Thompson, Tetrahymena cells released a large number of vesicles containing green fluorescent serovar Thompson cells. In comparison, grazing on Listeria monocytogenes cells resulted in their digestion and thus the infrequent release of this pathogen in vesicles. The number of serovar Thompson cells per vesicle increased significantly as the initial ratio of serovar Thompson to Tetrahymena cells increased from 500:1 to 5,000:1. The density of serovar Thompson was as high as 50 cells per vesicle. Staining with propidium iodide revealed that a significantly higher proportion of serovar Thompson cells remained viable when enclosed in vesicles than when free in solution. Enhanced survival rates were observed in vesicles that were secreted by both starved (F = 28.3, P < 0.001) and unstarved (F = 14.09, P < 0.005) Tetrahymena cells. Sequestration in vesicles also provided greater protection from low concentrations of calcium hypochlorite. Thus, the release of this human pathogen from Tetrahymena cells in high-density clusters enclosed in a membrane may have important implications for public health.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Production of respirable vesicles containing live Legionella pneumophila cells by two Acanthamoeba spp.

Two Acanthamoeba species, fed at three temperatures, expelled vesicles containing living Legionella pneumophila cells. Vesicles ranged from 2.1 to 6.4 microns in diameter and theoretically could contain several hundred bacteria. Viable L. pneumophila cells were observed within vesicles which had been exposed to two cooling tower biocides for 24 h. Clusters of bacteria in vesicles were not dispersed by freeze-thawing and sonication. Such vesicles may be agents for the transmission of legionellosis associated with cooling towers, and the risk may be underestimated by plate count methods.

Acanthamoeba↗
PubMed1993

Stimulatory effect of cooling tower biocides on amoebae.

Two species of amoebae were isolated from the cooling tower of an air-conditioning system and examined for effects of exposure to four cooling tower biocides, a thiocarbamate compound, tributyltin neodecanoate mixed with quaternary ammonium compounds, another quaternary ammonium compound alone, and an isothiazolin derivative. The amoebae isolated were Acanthamoeba hatchetti and a Cochliopodium species. Two other amoeba cultures, an A. hatchetti culture and Cochliopodium bilimbosum, were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and were also tested. The cooling tower isolates were more resistant to most of the biocides than the ATCC isolates were. The isothiazolin derivative was the least inhibitory to all four amoeba isolates, and tributyltin neodecanoate mixed with quaternary ammonium compounds was the most inhibitory to three of the four isolates. After exposure to lower concentrations of the biocides, including for one strain the manufacturer's recommended concentration of one biocide, the cooling tower amoeba populations increased significantly compared with unexposed controls, whereas the ATCC isolates were not stimulated at any of the concentrations tested. In some cases, concentrations which stimulated cooling tower amoebae inhibited the growth of the ATCC isolates. These results suggest that cooling tower amoebae may adapt to biocides, underscoring the need to use freshly isolated cooling tower organisms rather than organisms from culture collections for testing the efficacy of such biocides. The stimulatory effect of biocides on amoeba populations is an alarming observation, since these organisms may be reservoirs for legionellae. Biocides used to control microbial growth may actually enhance populations of host organisms for pathogenic bacteria.

Acanthamoeba↗
PubMed1991

Photoadaptation Alters the Ingestion Rate of Paramecium bursaria, a Mixotrophic Ciliate.

Bacteriovorous protozoa harboring symbiotic algae are abundant in aquatic ecosystems, yet despite a recent interest in protozoan bacterivory, the influence of light on their ingestion rates has not been investigated. In this study, Paramecium bursaria containing endosymbiotic Chlorella was tested for the effect of light on its ingestion rate. P. bursaria was grown for 4 to 6 days under five different light fluxes ranging from 1 to 90 microeinsteins s m. Ingestion rates were determined by using 0.77-mum-diameter fluorescent microspheres. 4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride-labeled Enterobacter cloacae was used in one experiment to confirm differences in uptake rates of bacteria by P. bursaria. Unlike phagotrophic phytoflagellates, the ciliates demonstrated different ingestion rates in response to different light intensities. Although symbionts contribute carbon to their host via photosynthesis, the paramecia of the present study fed faster after exposure to higher light intensities, whereas their aposymbiotic counterparts (lacking endosymbionts) were unaffected. Light-induced changes in ingestion rates were not immediate, but corresponded to the period of time required for endosymbiont populations to change significantly. This strongly suggests that the symbionts, stimulated by higher light levels, may dictate the feeding rates of their hosts. Thus, light, apart from temperature, may influence the impact of certain protists on natural bacteria and may affect laboratory-based determinations of protistan feeding rates.

Journal Article↗