This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Marsollier, L.
Right arrow Articles by Carbonnelle, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Marsollier, L.
Right arrow Articles by Carbonnelle, B.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Marsollier, L.
Right arrow Articles by Carbonnelle, B.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2004, p. 1097-1103, Vol. 70, No. 2
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.2.1097-1103.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Aquatic Plants Stimulate the Growth of and Biofilm Formation by Mycobacterium ulcerans in Axenic Culture and Harbor These Bacteria in the Environment

Laurent Marsollier,1 Timothy Stinear,1 Jacques Aubry,2 Jean Paul Saint André,3 Raymond Robert,4 Pierre Legras,5 Anne-Lise Manceau,6 Christine Audrain,7 Sandra Bourdon,6 Henri Kouakou,8 and Bernard Carbonnelle6*

Unité de Génétique Moléculaire Bactérienne, Institut Pasteur, 75015 Paris,1 INSERM U.463, Institut de Biologie et Faculté de Pharmacie, 44035 Nantes,2 Laboratoire d’Anatomie-Pathologie,3 Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie-Hygiène, CHU, 49033 Angers,6 Laboratoire de Parasitologie, GIHP, Faculté de Pharmacie,4 Faculté de Médecine, Annimalerie Hospitalo-Universitaire,5 Service Commun d'Imageries et d'Analyses Microscopiques, Faculté de Méedecine, 49000 Angers, France,7 Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Institut Raoul Follereau, Adzopé, Ivory Coast8

Received 14 July 2003/ Accepted 17 November 2003

Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, one of the most common mycobacterial diseases of humans. Recent studies have implicated aquatic insects in the transmission of this pathogen, but the contributions of other elements of the environment remain largely unknown. We report here that crude extracts from two green algae added to the BACTEC 7H12B culture medium halved the doubling time of M. ulcerans and promoted biofilm formation. Using the 7H12B medium, modified by the addition of the algal extract, and immunomagnetic separation, we also demonstrate that M. ulcerans is associated with aquatic plants in an area of the Ivory Coast where Buruli ulcer is endemic. Genotype analysis showed that plant-associated M. ulcerans had the same profile as isolates recovered in the same region from both aquatic insects and clinical specimens. These observations implicate aquatic plants as a reservoir of M. ulcerans and add a new potential link in the chain of transmission of M. ulcerans to humans.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie-Hygiène, CHU, 49033 Angers cedex 01, France. Phone: (33) 02-41-35-47-09. Fax: (33) 02-41-35-41-64. E-mail: marsol{at}pasteur.fr.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2004, p. 1097-1103, Vol. 70, No. 2
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.2.1097-1103.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Kaser, M., Hauser, J., Small, P., Pluschke, G. (2009). Large Sequence Polymorphisms Unveil the Phylogenetic Relationship of Environmental and Pathogenic Mycobacteria Related to Mycobacterium ulcerans. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 5667-5675 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fyfe, J. A. M., Lavender, C. J., Johnson, P. D. R., Globan, M., Sievers, A., Azuolas, J., Stinear, T. P. (2007). Development and Application of Two Multiplex Real-Time PCR Assays for the Detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans in Clinical and Environmental Samples. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 4733-4740 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stinear, T. P., Seemann, T., Pidot, S., Frigui, W., Reysset, G., Garnier, T., Meurice, G., Simon, D., Bouchier, C., Ma, L., Tichit, M., Porter, J. L., Ryan, J., Johnson, P. D.R., Davies, J. K., Jenkin, G. A., Small, P. L.C., Jones, L. M., Tekaia, F., Laval, F., Daffe, M., Parkhill, J., Cole, S. T. (2007). Reductive evolution and niche adaptation inferred from the genome of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer. Genome Res 17: 192-200 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Diaz, D., Dobeli, H., Yeboah-Manu, D., Mensah-Quainoo, E., Friedlein, A., Soder, N., Rondini, S., Bodmer, T., Pluschke, G. (2006). Use of the Immunodominant 18-Kilodalton Small Heat Shock Protein as a Serological Marker for Exposure to Mycobacterium ulcerans. CVI 13: 1314-1321 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mai-Prochnow, A., Webb, J. S., Ferrari, B. C., Kjelleberg, S. (2006). Ecological Advantages of Autolysis during the Development and Dispersal of Pseudoalteromonas tunicata Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 5414-5420 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chilima, B. Z., Clark, I. M., Floyd, S., Fine, P. E. M., Hirsch, P. R. (2006). Distribution of Environmental Mycobacteria in Karonga District, Northern Malawi. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 2343-2350 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stragier, P., Ablordey, A., Meyers, W. M., Portaels, F. (2005). Genotyping Mycobacterium ulcerans and Mycobacterium marinum by Using Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Units. J. Bacteriol. 187: 1639-1647 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stinear, T. P., Hong, H., Frigui, W., Pryor, M. J., Brosch, R., Garnier, T., Leadlay, P. F., Cole, S. T. (2005). Common Evolutionary Origin for the Unstable Virulence Plasmid pMUM Found in Geographically Diverse Strains of Mycobacterium ulcerans. J. Bacteriol. 187: 1668-1676 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Marsollier, L., Severin, T., Aubry, J., Merritt, R. W., Saint Andre, J.-P., Legras, P., Manceau, A.-L., Chauty, A., Carbonnelle, B., Cole, S. T. (2004). Aquatic Snails, Passive Hosts of Mycobacterium ulcerans. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 6296-6298 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»