1
|
Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra L. Crihfield
- C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, United States
| | - Lisa A. Holland
- C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Shen Y, Nie J, Kuang L, Zhang J, Li H. DNA sequencing, genomes and genetic markers of microbes on fruits and vegetables. Microb Biotechnol 2020; 14:323-362. [PMID: 32207561 PMCID: PMC7936329 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of DNA sequencing technology has provided an effective method for studying foodborne and phytopathogenic microorganisms on fruits and vegetables (F & V). DNA sequencing has successfully proceeded through three generations, including the tens of operating platforms. These advances have significantly promoted microbial whole‐genome sequencing (WGS) and DNA polymorphism research. Based on genomic and regional polymorphisms, genetic markers have been widely obtained. These molecular markers are used as targets for PCR or chip analyses to detect microbes at the genetic level. Furthermore, metagenomic analyses conducted by sequencing the hypervariable regions of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) have revealed comprehensive microbial communities in various studies on F & V. This review highlights the basic principles of three generations of DNA sequencing, and summarizes the WGS studies of and available DNA markers for major bacterial foodborne pathogens and phytopathogenic fungi found on F & V. In addition, rDNA sequencing‐based bacterial and fungal metagenomics are summarized under three topics. These findings deepen the understanding of DNA sequencing and its application in studies of foodborne and phytopathogenic microbes and shed light on strategies for the monitoring of F & V microbes and quality control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Youming Shen
- Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Fruit (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Quality Inspection and Test Center for Fruit and Nursery Stocks (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xingcheng, 125100, China
| | - Jiyun Nie
- Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Fruit (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Quality Inspection and Test Center for Fruit and Nursery Stocks (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xingcheng, 125100, China.,College of Horticulture, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China
| | - Lixue Kuang
- Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Fruit (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Quality Inspection and Test Center for Fruit and Nursery Stocks (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xingcheng, 125100, China
| | - Jianyi Zhang
- Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Fruit (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Quality Inspection and Test Center for Fruit and Nursery Stocks (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xingcheng, 125100, China
| | - Haifei Li
- Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Fruit (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Quality Inspection and Test Center for Fruit and Nursery Stocks (Xingcheng), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xingcheng, 125100, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lian DS, Zhao SJ. Capillary electrophoresis based on nucleic acid detection for diagnosing human infectious disease. Clin Chem Lab Med 2017; 54:707-38. [PMID: 26352354 DOI: 10.1515/cclm-2015-0096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2015] [Accepted: 06/17/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Rapid transmission, high morbidity, and mortality are the features of human infectious diseases caused by microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. These diseases may lead within a short period of time to great personal and property losses, especially in regions where sanitation is poor. Thus, rapid diagnoses are vital for the prevention and therapeutic intervention of human infectious diseases. Several conventional methods are often used to diagnose infectious diseases, e.g. methods based on cultures or morphology, or biochemical tests based on metabonomics. Although traditional methods are considered gold standards and are used most frequently, they are laborious, time consuming, and tedious and cannot meet the demand for rapid diagnoses. Disease diagnosis using capillary electrophoresis methods has the advantages of high efficiency, high throughput, and high speed, and coupled with the different nucleic acid detection strategies overcomes the drawbacks of traditional identification methods, precluding many types of false positive and negative results. Therefore, this review focuses on the application of capillary electrophoresis based on nucleic detection to the diagnosis of human infectious diseases, and offers an introduction to the limitations, advantages, and future developments of this approach.
Collapse
|
4
|
Current Approaches Towards Development of Molecular Markers in Diagnostics of Invasive Aspergillosis. Fungal Biol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-34106-4_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
|
5
|
Falahati M, Ghanbari S, Ebrahimi M, Ghazanfari M, Bazrafshan F, Farahyar S, Falak R. Fractionation and identification of the allergic proteins in Aspergillus species. Curr Med Mycol 2016; 2:37-45. [PMID: 28959794 PMCID: PMC5611695 DOI: 10.18869/acadpub.cmm.2.4.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Purpose: Allergy is an undesired immune response to non-pathogenic agents. However, some opportunistic microorganisms such as fungi can also cause allergy. Among those fungi, hyphae form of Aspergillus strains including A. fumigatus, A. flavus, and A. niger could be mentioned. In this study, we aimed to separate allergic proteins from Aspergillus strains and determine their identity. Materials and Methods: Standard species of Aspergillus strains were cultivated in optimized conditions and the mycelium was separated by centrifugation. The fungal cells were lysed through physical methods such as freeze-thawing and grinding to prepare a suitable protein extract. The protein concentration was measured by Bradford method and the electrophoretic pattern of the extract was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The proteins were fractionated by ammonium sulfate precipitation and anion exchange chromatography using fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) system. The IgE immunoreactivity of the sensitized patients and controls was studied using the fractionated proteins by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Following SDS-PAGE, proteins were electrotransferred onto polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes and the strips were blotted with allergic patients' and controls' sera. The immunoreactive bands were excised from colloidal coomassie-stained SDS-PAGE gels and studied by mass spectroscopy methods. Results: Among the studied species, A. fumigatus showed stronger IgE reactivity and more IgE reactive protein bands than others did. The proteins with higher molecular weights showed stronger immunoreactivity in Western blotting. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated a correlation between the results of the applied ELISA methods. One of the most prominent IgE-reactive proteins was confirmed to be 45 kDa mycelia catalase. Conclusion: Our findings confirmed that high molecular weight proteins might play a major role in allergy and IgE reactivity to Aspergillus species. Moreover, the results showed that precipitation and chromatographic methods are applicable for fractionation of fungal proteins such as mycelial catalase.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Falahati
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - S Ghanbari
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - M Ebrahimi
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - M Ghazanfari
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - F Bazrafshan
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - S Farahyar
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - R Falak
- Immunology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Stoichevska V, Peng YY, Vashi AV, Werkmeister JA, Dumsday GJ, Ramshaw JAM. Engineering specific chemical modification sites into a collagen-like protein from Streptococcus pyogenes. J Biomed Mater Res A 2016; 105:806-813. [PMID: 27806444 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.35957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2016] [Revised: 10/04/2016] [Accepted: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Recombinant bacterial collagens provide a new opportunity for safe biomedical materials. They are readily expressed in Escherichia coli in good yield and can be readily purified by simple approaches. However, recombinant proteins are limited in that direct secondary modification during expression is generally not easily achieved. Thus, inclusion of unusual amino acids, cyclic peptides, sugars, lipids, and other complex functions generally needs to be achieved chemically after synthesis and extraction. In the present study, we have illustrated that bacterial collagens that have had their sequences modified to include cysteine residue(s), which are not normally present in bacterial collagen-like sequences, enable a range of specific chemical modification reactions to be produced. Various model reactions were shown to be effective for modifying the collagens. The ability to include alkyne (or azide) functions allows the extensive range of substitutions that are available via "click" chemistry to be accessed. When bifunctional reagents were used, some crosslinking occurred to give higher molecular weight polymeric proteins, but gels were not formed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 806-813, 2017.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Yong Y Peng
- CSIRO Manufacturing, Bayview Avenue, Clayton, 3168, Australia
| | - Aditya V Vashi
- CSIRO Manufacturing, Bayview Avenue, Clayton, 3168, Australia
| | | | - Geoff J Dumsday
- CSIRO Manufacturing, Bayview Avenue, Clayton, 3168, Australia
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
A Unique Set of the Burkholderia Collagen-Like Proteins Provides Insight into Pathogenesis, Genome Evolution and Niche Adaptation, and Infection Detection. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137578. [PMID: 26356298 PMCID: PMC4565658 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei, classified as category B priority pathogens, are significant human and animal pathogens that are highly infectious and broad-spectrum antibiotic resistant. Currently, the pathogenicity mechanisms utilized by Burkholderia are not fully understood, and correct diagnosis of B. pseudomallei and B. mallei infection remains a challenge due to limited detection methods. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis of a set of 13 novel Burkholderia collagen-like proteins (Bucl) that were identified among B. pseudomallei and B. mallei select agents. We infer that several Bucl proteins participate in pathogenesis based on their noncollagenous domains that are associated with the components of a type III secretion apparatus and membrane transport systems. Homology modeling of the outer membrane efflux domain of Bucl8 points to a role in multi-drug resistance. We determined that bucl genes are widespread in B. pseudomallei and B. mallei; Fischer’s exact test and Cramer’s V2 values indicate that the majority of bucl genes are highly associated with these pathogenic species versus nonpathogenic B. thailandensis. We designed a bucl-based quantitative PCR assay which was able to detect B. pseudomallei infection in a mouse with a detection limit of 50 CFU. Finally, chromosomal mapping and phylogenetic analysis of bucl loci revealed considerable genomic plasticity and adaptation of Burkholderia spp. to host and environmental niches. In this study, we identified a large set of phylogenetically unrelated bucl genes commonly found in Burkholderia select agents, encoding predicted pathogenicity factors, detection targets, and vaccine candidates.
Collapse
|
8
|
Durney BC, Crihfield CL, Holland LA. Capillary electrophoresis applied to DNA: determining and harnessing sequence and structure to advance bioanalyses (2009-2014). Anal Bioanal Chem 2015; 407:6923-38. [PMID: 25935677 PMCID: PMC4551542 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-015-8703-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2015] [Revised: 04/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
This review of capillary electrophoresis methods for DNA analyses covers critical advances from 2009 to 2014, referencing 184 citations. Separation mechanisms based on free-zone capillary electrophoresis, Ogston sieving, and reptation are described. Two prevalent gel matrices for gel-facilitated sieving, which are linear polyacrylamide and polydimethylacrylamide, are compared in terms of performance, cost, viscosity, and passivation of electroosmotic flow. The role of capillary electrophoresis in the discovery, design, and characterization of DNA aptamers for molecular recognition is discussed. Expanding and emerging techniques in the field are also highlighted.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brandon C Durney
- C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Gabriel MF, Postigo I, Gutiérrez-Rodríguez A, Suñén E, Tomaz CT, Martínez J. Development of a PCR-based tool for detecting immunologically relevant Alt a 1 and Alt a 1 homologue coding sequences. Med Mycol 2015; 53:636-42. [PMID: 25877667 DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myv022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2015] [Accepted: 03/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Alt a 1 has been recognized as the most important allergen produced by the Pleosporaceae family and is a risk factor for asthma development and/or exacerbation. The aim of this study was to develop a detection tool that is highly specific for species that produced airborne Alt a 1. Based on the highly conserved internal nucleotide region of the several Alt a 1 sequences that are available in GenBank, a pair of primers (Alta1CF/Alta1CR) was designed. A set of primers used by other authors for the production of recombinant Alt a 1 (A21F/A21R) was also tested. The molecular analyses were based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of the cDNA that was obtained from thirteen common fungal species. The PCR system that utilized Alta1CF/Alta1CR was highly specific, sensitive, and was able to detect an amplicon of approximately 180 bp from Alt a 1 and Alt a 1-like encoding genes from A. alternata, A. tenuissima, A. infectoria, U. botrytis, and S. botryosum. In contrast, the A21F/A21R primers were specific for the very close taxonomically related species A. alternata and A. tenuissima. Thus, this rapid, sensitive, and specific detection tool can be used to assess Alt a 1 exposure levels and to inform the implementation of the appropriate public health measures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M F Gabriel
- Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Laboratory of Parasitology and Allergy, Lascaray Research Centre, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain Department of Chemistry and CICS-UBI - Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - I Postigo
- Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Laboratory of Parasitology and Allergy, Lascaray Research Centre, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain
| | - A Gutiérrez-Rodríguez
- Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Laboratory of Parasitology and Allergy, Lascaray Research Centre, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain
| | - E Suñén
- Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Laboratory of Parasitology and Allergy, Lascaray Research Centre, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain
| | - C T Tomaz
- Department of Chemistry and CICS-UBI - Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - J Martínez
- Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Laboratory of Parasitology and Allergy, Lascaray Research Centre, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Hillmann F, Novohradská S, Mattern DJ, Forberger T, Heinekamp T, Westermann M, Winckler T, Brakhage AA. Virulence determinants of the human pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus protect against soil amoeba predation. Environ Microbiol 2015; 17:2858-69. [PMID: 25684622 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2014] [Revised: 01/30/2015] [Accepted: 01/31/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Filamentous fungi represent classical examples for environmentally acquired human pathogens whose major virulence mechanisms are likely to have emerged long before the appearance of innate immune systems. In natural habitats, amoeba predation could impose a major selection pressure towards the acquisition of virulence attributes. To test this hypothesis, we exploited the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum to study its interaction with Aspergillus fumigatus, two abundant soil inhabitants for which we found co-occurrence in various sites. Fungal conidia were efficiently taken up by D. discoideum, but ingestion was higher when conidia were devoid of the green fungal spore pigment dihydroxynaphtalene melanin, in line with earlier results obtained for immune cells. Conidia were able to survive phagocytic processing, and intracellular germination was initiated only after several hours of co-incubation which eventually led to a lethal disruption of the host cell. Besides phagocytic interactions, both amoeba and fungus secreted cross inhibitory factors which suppressed fungal growth or induced amoeba aggregation with subsequent cell lysis, respectively. On the fungal side, we identified gliotoxin as the major fungal factor killing Dictyostelium, supporting the idea that major virulence attributes, such as escape from phagocytosis and the secretion of mycotoxins are beneficial to escape from environmental predators.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Falk Hillmann
- Department of Molecular and Applied Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Microbiology
| | - Silvia Novohradská
- Department of Molecular and Applied Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Microbiology
| | - Derek J Mattern
- Department of Molecular and Applied Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Microbiology
| | - Tilmann Forberger
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Thorsten Heinekamp
- Department of Molecular and Applied Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Microbiology
| | | | - Thomas Winckler
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Axel A Brakhage
- Department of Molecular and Applied Microbiology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Microbiology
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Durney BC, Bachert BA, Sloane HS, Lukomski S, Landers JP, Holland LA. Reversible phospholipid nanogels for deoxyribonucleic acid fragment size determinations up to 1500 base pairs and integrated sample stacking. Anal Chim Acta 2015; 880:136-44. [PMID: 26092346 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2015.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2014] [Revised: 03/02/2015] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Phospholipid additives are a cost-effective medium to separate deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragments and possess a thermally-responsive viscosity. This provides a mechanism to easily create and replace a highly viscous nanogel in a narrow bore capillary with only a 10°C change in temperature. Preparations composed of dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DHPC) self-assemble, forming structures such as nanodisks and wormlike micelles. Factors that influence the morphology of a particular DMPC-DHPC preparation include the concentration of lipid in solution, the temperature, and the ratio of DMPC and DHPC. It has previously been established that an aqueous solution containing 10% phospholipid with a ratio of [DMPC]/[DHPC]=2.5 separates DNA fragments with nearly single base resolution for DNA fragments up to 500 base pairs in length, but beyond this size the resolution decreases dramatically. A new DMPC-DHPC medium is developed to effectively separate and size DNA fragments up to 1500 base pairs by decreasing the total lipid concentration to 2.5%. A 2.5% phospholipid nanogel generates a resolution of 1% of the DNA fragment size up to 1500 base pairs. This increase in the upper size limit is accomplished using commercially available phospholipids at an even lower material cost than is achieved with the 10% preparation. The separation additive is used to evaluate size markers ranging between 200 and 1500 base pairs in order to distinguish invasive strains of Streptococcus pyogenes and Aspergillus species by harnessing differences in gene sequences of collagen-like proteins in these organisms. For the first time, a reversible stacking gel is integrated in a capillary sieving separation by utilizing the thermally-responsive viscosity of these self-assembled phospholipid preparations. A discontinuous matrix is created that is composed of a cartridge of highly viscous phospholipid assimilated into a separation matrix of low viscosity. DNA sample stacking is facilitated with longer injection times without sacrificing separation efficiency.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brandon C Durney
- C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, United States
| | - Beth A Bachert
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, United States
| | - Hillary S Sloane
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States
| | - Slawomir Lukomski
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, United States
| | - James P Landers
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States; Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States
| | - Lisa A Holland
- C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Vilavert L, Figueras MJ, Schuhmacher M, Nadal M, Domingo JL. Formaldehyde: a chemical of concern in the vicinity of MBT plants of municipal solid waste. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2014; 133:27-35. [PMID: 24906065 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.04.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Revised: 04/11/2014] [Accepted: 04/24/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) of municipal solid waste (MSW) has a number of advantages in comparison to other MSW management possibilities. However, adverse health effects related to this practice are not well known yet, as a varied typology of microbiological and chemical agents may be generated and released. In 2010, we initiated an environmental monitoring program to control air levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and microbiological pollutants near an MBT plant in Montcada i Reixac (Catalonia, Spain). In order to assess any temporal and seasonal trends, four 6-monthly campaigns were performed. Important fluctuations were observed in the levels of different biological indicators (total and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi grown at 25 °C and 37 °C, and more specifically, Aspergillus fumigatus). Although overall bioaerosols concentrations were rather low, a certain increase in the mean values of bacteria and fungi was observed in summer. In contrast, higher concentrations of VOCs were found in winter, with the only exception of formaldehyde. Interestingly, although this compound was not detected in one of the sampling campaigns, current airborne levels of formaldehyde were higher than those previously reported in urban areas across Europe. Furthermore, the non-carcinogenic risks (Hazard Quotient), particularly in winter, as well as the cancer risks associated with the inhalation of VOCs, exceeded the threshold values (1 and 10(-5), respectively), reaffirming the need of continuing with the monitoring program, with special emphasis on formaldehyde, a carcinogenic/mutagenic substance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lolita Vilavert
- Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain
| | - María J Figueras
- Microbiology Unit, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Marta Schuhmacher
- Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Departament d'Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Martí Nadal
- Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
| | - José L Domingo
- Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|