Growth of Legionella pneumophila in association with blue-green algae (cyanobacteria)

Legionella pneumophila (Legionnaires disease bacterium) of serogroup 1 was isolated from an algal-bacterial mat community growing at 45 degrees C in a man-made thermal effluent. This isolate was grown in mineral salts medium at 45 degrees C in association with the blue-green alga (cyanobacterium) Fischerella sp. over a pH range of 6.9 to 7.6. L. pneumophila was apparently using algal extracellular products as its carbon and energy sources. These observations indicate that the temperature, pH, and nutritional requirements of L. pneumophila are not as stringent as those previously observed when cultured on complex media. This association between L. pneumophila and certain blue-green algae suggests an explanation for the apparent widespread distribution of the bacterium in nature.