Thesis (M.Tech.: Biotechnology)-Dept. of Biotechnology, Durban Institute of Technology, 2005 xiv, 114 leaves : ill. 30 cm / The activated sludge process is the mostl used biological treatment process. Engineers and microbiologists are constantly seeking ways to improve process efficiency, which can be attributed to the increasing demand for fresh water supplies and proper environmental management. Since the inception of the activated sludge process, bulking and foaming have been major problems affecting its efficiency. Filamentous bacteria have been identified as the primary cause of bulking and foaming. Numerous attempts have been made to resolve this problem. Some of these attempts were effective as interim measures but failed as long term control strategies. The identification of filamentous bacteria and the study of their physiology have been hampered by the unreliability of conventional microbiological techniques. This is largely due to their morphological variations and inconsistent characteristics within different environments. To fully understand their role in promoting bulking and foaming, filamentous bacteria need to be characterized on a molecular level. The aim of this study was, therefore, to identify filamentous bacteria in pure culture with the purpose of validating these findings to the physiological traits of the pure cultures when they were isolated. Fourteen different filamentous cultures were used for this study. The cultures were identified using specific oligonucleotide probes via fluorescent in situ hybridisation and nucleotide sequencing. Prior to sequencing, an agarose gel and a denaturing gradient gel Electrophoresis profile were determined for each isolate. The various techniques were optimised specifically for the filamentous isolates. The isolates were identified as Gordonia amarae, Haliscomenobacter hydrossis, Acinetobacter sp./Type 1863, Type 021N, Thiothrix nivea, Sphaerotilus natans and Nocardioform organisms.

Bacteriological data from 1980 to 1991 were reviewed to determine whether coliform bacteria occurred seasonally and spatially within a midwestern city's distribution system. Coliform bacteria are used as microbiological indicator organisms to determine if a public water supply is safe for consumption. The public water_ distribution system examined had at least a twelve year history of the presence of coliform bacteria. Previous investigations have described the occurrence of the coliform bacteria as sporadic because there were no apparent patterns to their presence. An analysis of bacteriological data has not previously been performed to specifically detect seasonal and spatial occurrences of coliform bacteria.This study attempted to determine if seasonal or spatial patterns of coliform occurrences exist within the in the dominant coliform species. Data indicate that the highest percentage of coliform positive samples occurred in the summer, followed by fall, then winter, with spring having the lowest percentage of coliform positive samples. While Enterobacter cloacae was the dominant coliform species during the spring, summer and fall, Klebsiella oxytoca was the dominant coliform during the winter. Coliform occurrence throughout the distribution system was variable among the 43 sample sites. The percentage of positive samples from the various sites ranged from 0% to 10.5%. The five sites with the highest percentage of coliform positive samples were at the extremities of the distribution system. E. cloacae was dominant at 88% of the sites. K. oxytoca was dominant at 9% sites, which typically had a low percentage of coliform positive samples. / Department of Biology

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1939.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1939.

OBJETIVO: Establecer la contribución de los integrones de clase 1 a la resistencia antibiótica en aislados clínicos de enterobacterias de dos contextos epidemiológicos: zoonosis por Salmonella enterica e infección por Klebsiella pneumoniae resistente a amoxicilina/clavulánico (ACL) adquirida en un centro sociosanitario. AISLADOS: Se estudiaron (a) 92 aislados humanos de Salmonella enterica serotipo Typhimurium (ST) recuperados entre 2004 y 2006 en el laboratorio de microbiología del Hospital Verge de la Cinta de Tortosa (35 aislados adicionales de una colección de 2000-2001 para estudios de epidemiología molecular) y 382 aislados de S. enterica de otros serotipos (SNT) recuperados en ese laboratorio en 2001 y entre 2004 y 2009 (b) 45 aislados de K. pneumoniae resistentes a ACL y sensibles a cefazolina y dos resistentes a ACL con fenotipo sugestivo de AmpC plasmídica y resistencia transferible a quinolonas recuperados entre 2006 y 2008 de muestras clínicas de pacientes de un centro sociosanitario de la región sanitaria Terres de l’Ebre. RESULTADOS: (a) Salmonella enterica: El 77,2% de los aislados de ST y el 16,5% de los de SNT fueron resistentes a más de dos familias de antibióticos (MDR). El 3,3% de los aislados de ST y el 41% de los de SNT fueron resistentes a ácido nalidíxico y sólo se constató resistencia a ciprofloxacino en tres aislados de S. Kentucky. Las β-lactamasas presentes en los aislados de ST resistentes a amoxicilina (60,9%) fueron OXA-1 (52%), TEM-1 (32%) y PSE-1 (18,7%) y en los aislados resistentes de SNT (24,3%) TEM-1 (90,3%), CTX-M-9 (1 aislado de S. Virchow y 1 aislado de S. Grumpensis qnrA1 positivo), CTX-M-15 (1 aislado de S. Kapemba) y DHA-1 (1 aislado de S. Newport qnrB4 positivo); ésta es la primera descripción de β-lactamasas de espectro extendido en S. Kapemba y S. Grumpensis. 56 aislados de ST y 35 de SNT, todos excepto uno MDR, poseían integrones de clase 1. En ST los aislados predominantes fueron los que albergaban el integrón de región variable (RV) blaOXA-1-aadA1, cuya frecuencia superaba la registrada para el conjunto de España, seguidos de los aislados con el perfil de integrones aadA2 + blaPSE-1 típico de la presencia de SGI1; la mayoría de aislados con uno u otro perfil de integrones estaban relacionados clonalmente. En SNT se identificaron 11 tipos de integrones en 15 serotipos distintos (incluidos S. Kapemba, S. Mikawasima y S. ser [9,12:Iv:i:-] en los que no se habían descrito previamente), siendo los de RV dfrA1-aadA1, dfrA17-aadA5 y dfrA12-orf-aadA2 los presentes en mayor número de serotipos; en los dos aislados blaCTX-M-9 positivos, este gen estaba ubicado en un integrón complejo cuya RV 1 fue dfrA16-aadA2 en S. Virchow y aadB-aadA2 en S. Grumpnesis. Se detectaron dos variantes de integrones atípicos asociados a sul3: dfrA12-orF-aadA2-cmlA-aad1 (5 aislados de ST y 4 de S. Enteritidis) y estX-psp (2 S. Grumpensis). Este último integrón y el de RV aadA13-sat, también identificado en S. Grumpensis, no se habían descrito anteriormente en S. enterica. (b) Klebsiella pneumoniae centro socio-sanitario: Todos los aislados resistentes a ACL y sensibles a cefazolina producían una penicilinasa resistente a inhibidores, IRT-11 (n=19) u OXA-1 (n=26). Los aislados productores de IRT-11 se agrupaban en tres clones y sólo uno portaba un integrón de clase 1 (RV dfrA12-orf-aadA2); este es el segundo caso comunicado de brote nosocomial por producción de un enzima IRT. Todos los aislados productores de OXA-1 eran MDR y 23 de ellos acarreaban un integrón de clase 1, transferible por conjugación y asociado a qnrS2, de RV [aac (6’)-1b-cr- blaOXA1-catB3-arr3], que en tres aislados era defectivo en 3’. Los aislados se agrupaban en tres clones diferentes según poseyesen integrones de clase 1 convencionales, defectivos o no presentaran integrones. Un integrón de idéntica RV y vinculado a blaDHA-1 y qnrB4 en un integrón complejo de nueva estructura (Genbank GU906294) muy semejante a In37 y del que se diferenciaba por haber sufrido la deleción, por la inserción de IS26, de la región comprendida entre la primera copia de 3’CS y qnrB4, se detectó en otros dos aislados MDR de K. pneumoniae, indistinguibles genéticamente y qnrS2 positivos. / The aim of this work was to assess the contribution of class 1 integrons to antimicrobial resistance in clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae of human origin from two epidemiological settings: zoonosis caused by Salmonella enterica and infection due to amoxicillin-clavulanate(ACL)-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae acquired in a chronic care center. RESULTS: (a) S. Typhimurium: 71 of the 92 isolates recovered from 2004 to 2006 at the microbiology laboratory of Hospital Verge de la Cinta (Tortosa. Catalonia. Spain) were multidrug-resistant (MDR), of which 56 carried class 1 integrons. Isolates bearing the blaOXA-1-aadA1 variable region integron were the commonest among this serovar, showing a higher frequency than that reported in other areas of Spain, followed by isolates exhibiting the integron profile typical of SGI1 (aadA2 + blaPSE-1); most isolates displaying any of these two integron profiles shared identical genotype. Five isolates possessed a sul3-associated class 1 integron whose structure was 5’CS–dfrA12–orfF–aadA2–cmlA1–aadA1–qacH–IS440–sul3. (b) Non-Typhimurium S. enterica: 16.5% of the 382 isolates recovered in 2001 and from 2004-2009 at the same laboratory were MDR and 35 carried class 1 integrons. Overall, 11 different class 1 integrons were identified in 15 distinct serotypes (including S. Kapemba, S. Mikawasima and S. ser [9,12:Iv:i:-], where they had not been previously described), being those with dfrA1-aadA1, dfrA17-aadA5 and dfrA12-orf-aadA2 variable regions the most widely distributed. Two isolates (one qnrA1 positive S. Grumpensis and one S. Virchow) bore a complex class 1 integron linked to blaCTX-M-9 and 4 S. Enteritidis and 2 S. Rissen carried atypical sul3-type integrons (5’CS–dfrA12–orfF–aadA2–cmlA1–aadA1–qacH–IS440–sul3 and 5’CS–estX-psp-IS440–sul3, respectively). The former integron and the aadA13-sat one, detected in S. Grumpensis, had never been reported before in S. enterica. (c) Klebsiella pneumoniae: 47 ACL-resistant (45 cefazolin-susceptible and 2 broad-spectrum-cephalosporin-resistant) isolates, recovered between 2006 and 2008 from patients attending a chronic care center, were investigated. All cefazolin-susceptible isolates produced an inhibitor-resistant penicillinase, IRT 11 (n= 19) or OXA-1 (n=26); 23 OXA-1-producing isolates harboured a class 1 integron, associated with qnrS2, with the aac(6’)- Ib-cr, blaOXA-1, catB3, arr3 cassette arrangement (in 3 cases the integron was defective in 3’ end). An integron with identical structure, linked to blaDHA-1 and qnrB4 within an In37-like complex class 1 integron of novel structure (Genbank GU906294), was found in two epidemiologically closely related qnrS2 positive isolates.