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Published on: July 11, 2016
Methylobacterium spp. as Emerging Opportunistic Premise Plumbing Pathogens
Kyle J Szwetkowski1, Joseph O Falkinham1
1Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Abstract:
Methylobacterium spp. are emerging opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens. Human infections linked to premise plumbing provide evidence of their routes of infection. Cells of a collection of representative strains of different Methylobacterium species were tested for hydrophobicity by contact angle, adherence and biofilm formation on different plumbing materials, and temperature tolerance (50-60 °C); characteristics shared by OPPPs. Methylobacterium spp. strains were shown to grow in drinking water, have high cell-surface hydrophobicity, adhere to pipe surface materials, form biofilms, and survive exposure to high (60° C) temperatures. It can be concluded that Methylobacterium spp. strains share traits in common with other opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs).
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