Viability of Legionella pneumophila in Water Samples: A Comparison of Propidium Monoazide (PMA) Treatment on Membrane Filters and in Liquid
by
Sara Bonetta 1,*,†
,
Cristina Pignata 1,†,
Silvia Bonetta 1,
Lorenza Meucci 2,
Donatella Giacosa 2,
Elena Marino 2,
Giorgio Gilli 1 and
Elisabetta Carraro 1
Sara Bonetta 1,*,†,
Cristina Pignata 1,†,
Silvia Bonetta 1,
Lorenza Meucci 2,
Donatella Giacosa 2,
Elena Marino 2,
Giorgio Gilli 1 and
Elisabetta Carraro 1
1
Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, P.zza Polonia 94, 10126 Torino, Italy
2
Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A., C.so XI Febbraio, 14, 10152 Torino, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to the work.
Academic Editor: Miklas Scholz
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(5), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14050467
Received: 28 February 2017 / Revised: 18 April 2017 / Accepted: 20 April 2017 / Published: 27 April 2017
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Health)
Legionella pneumophila is a ubiquitous microorganism widely distributed in aquatic environments and can cause Legionellosis in humans. A promising approach to detect viable cells in water samples involves the use of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in combination with photoactivatable DNA intercalator propidium monoazide (PMA). However, the PMA efficiency could be different depending on the experimental conditions used. The aim of this study was to compare two PMA exposure protocols: (A) directly on the membrane filter or (B) in liquid after filter washing. The overall PMA-induced qPCR means reductions in heat-killed L. pneumophila cells were 2.42 and 1.91 log units for exposure protocols A and B, respectively. A comparison between the results obtained reveals that filter exposure allows a higher PMA-qPCR signal reduction to be reached, mainly at low concentrations (p < 0.05). This confirms the potential use of this method to quantify L. pneumophila in water with low contamination.
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Keywords:
Legionella; water; propidium monoazide (PMA); quantitative PCR (qPCR)
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MDPI and ACS Style
Bonetta, S.; Pignata, C.; Bonetta, S.; Meucci, L.; Giacosa, D.; Marino, E.; Gilli, G.; Carraro, E. Viability of Legionella pneumophila in Water Samples: A Comparison of Propidium Monoazide (PMA) Treatment on Membrane Filters and in Liquid. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 467.
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