1. Dispersal of potentially pathogenic bacteria by plastic debris in Guanabara Bay, RJ, Brazil.
- Author
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Silva MM, Maldonado GC, Castro RO, de Sá Felizardo J, Cardoso RP, Anjos RMD, and Araújo FV
- Subjects
- Biofilms, Brazil, Enterobacteriaceae pathogenicity, Escherichia coli genetics, Escherichia coli pathogenicity, Heterotrophic Processes, Plastics chemistry, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared, Vibrio genetics, Vibrio pathogenicity, Vibrio vulnificus genetics, Vibrio vulnificus pathogenicity, Waste Products analysis, Wastewater microbiology, Water Pollutants, Chemical analysis, Water Pollutants, Chemical chemistry, Bays microbiology, Escherichia coli isolation & purification, Plastics analysis, Vibrio vulnificus isolation & purification
- Abstract
Analyses of thermotolerant coliform and heterotrophic bacteria as well as Escherichia coli and Vibrio species were carried out on plastic samples and in the surrounding waters of Guanabara Bay to evaluate plastic debris as vehicles of bacterial dispersal. Chemical characterizations of plastics were performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Plastic debris with high coliform contents were found, while their respective water samples had only low titers. No correlations were observed, however, between the amounts of bacteria and the chemical compositions of the plastic debris. Forty-four bacterial strains were PCR-confirmed as E. coli pathotypes, and 59 strains of Vibrio spp. (with 12 being identified as Vibrio cholerae [6], Vibrio vulnificus [5], and Vibrio mimicus [1]). These findings suggest these plastics can function as a substrate for bacterial biofilms (including pathogens). These debris, in turn, can be dispersed in aquatic environments not otherwise showing recent fecal bacterial contamination., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2019
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