The severe and pervasive effects of multispecies foodborne microbial biofilms highlight the importance of rapid detection and diagnosis of contamination risk in the field using epifluorescence-based techniques (EBT) combined with automatic image-counting software. This study screened the hygiene quality of the environment, the carcass and the slaughtering equipment in the El-Kharga abattoir, New Valley Province, Egypt, to assess possible contamination during slaughter process. In addition, biofilm was assessed, and bacteria was enumerated by epifluorescence microscopy. Using both conventional and EBT, the highest bacterial counts were observed for the slaughtering equipment (6.6 and 5.2 cfu/cm2, respectively), followed by different parts of the carcass (4.1 and 4.4 cfu/cm2, respectively) and environmental samples (3.9 and 4.1 cfu/cm2, respectively). A high prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 was observed on the slaughtering equipment (25%), which also led to carcass (1%) contamination. Moreover, Enterobacteriaceae members were detected during examination, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Raoultella ornithinolytica. Despite the relatively good hygiene quality of the abattoir environment, there is also a high risk associated with biofilm formation by pathogenic microorganisms on the slaughtering equipment. Moreover, EBT showed different structures of the biofilm, including those formed at different maturation stages, such as voids, microbubbles, channels and mushroom shapes. (EBT) microscopy combined with image-counting software could be a candidate substitute to estimate efficiently, precisely and rapidly the microbial aggregation and exposure risk in field than the conventional counting techniques.

Bioremediation has gained global prominence as an effective method for treating hydrocarbon-contaminated drill mud waste (HCDW). However, the problem of low nutrient content, bioavailability and microbial presence remain largely unresolved. In this study, the synergistic effects of compost, cow bile and bacterial culture on the degradation rate of HCDW was investigated. A homogenized HCDW sample (80 kg) obtained from 25 different drill mud tanks was divided into 20 portions (4 kg each) and each adjusted to 1.4% nitrogen content + 20 ml cow bile (i.e., basic treatment). Pure cultures of Brevibacterium casei (Bc) and Bacillus zhangzhouensi (Bz) and their mixture (BcBz) were subsequently added to 12 of the amended HCDW (basic) to undergo a 6-week incubation. A portion of the unamended HCDW (2 kg) was used as control. Initial pH, electrical conductivity and surface tension values of the HCDW were 8.83, 2.34 mS/cm and 36.5 mN/m, respectively. Corresponding values for total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), total nitrogen and total plate count bacteria were 165 g/kg, 0.04% and 4.4 × 10² cfu/ml. The treatments led to a substantial reduction in TPH (p < 0.05) while the control had no significant effect (p > 0.05). TPH reduction after the experimental period occurred in the order: basic + BcBz (99.7%) > basic + Bz (99.5%) > basic + Bc (99.2%) > basic (95.2%) > control (0.06%). Multiple regression analysis revealed significant effect of total plate count, pH, CN ratio and electrical conductivity (R² = 0.87, p = 0.05) on the degradation of TPH in the HCDW. The study demonstrates strong interactive effects of compost, cow bile and bacteria culture on the remediation of HCDW, which can be applied to boost the efficiency of the bioremediation technique.

Biogas residue and organic manure are frequently used for crop planting. However, the evaluation of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB), antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and bacterial community before their applications to fields is still lacking. This study monitored the variations of bacteria resistant to sulfadiazine, tetracycline and norfloxacin, 57 resistance genes for sulfonamides, tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones as well as the bacterial community during the 28-day aerobic storage of biogas residue and organic manure by using viable plate counts, high-throughput qPCR and Illumina MiSeq sequencing methods. Then two storage conditions, incubator (25 °C) and natural environment, were used to assess the responses of ARB and ARGs to the environmental factors. Results showed that a total of 35 and 21 ARGs were detected in biogas residue and organic manure, respectively. ARB and ARGs were enriched up to 8.01-fold in biogas residue after the 28-day storage, but varied in a narrow range during the storage of organic manure. Compared with the incubator condition, the proliferation of ARB and ARGs in biogas residue under the natural condition was relatively inhibited by the varied and complicated environmental factors. However, we found that there was no significant difference of ARB and ARGs in organic manure between the incubator and natural conditions. Bacterial community was also shifted during the storage of biogas residue, especially Bacteroidetes_VC2.1_Bac22, Aequorivita, Luteimonas and Arenimonas. Network analysis revealed that the relationship in biogas residue was much more complicated than that in organic manure, which ultimately resulted in large successions of ARB and ARGs during the short-term storage of biogas residue. Therefore, we suggest that further measures should be taken before the application of biogas residue to fields.

Our knowledge of the concentrations of bioaerosols in residential micro-environments in low income countries is scanty. The present investigation was conducted to assess the culturable concentration and size distribution of bacteria, gram negative bacteria and fungi in two rural and an urban site in Pakistan. The highest indoor culturable bacteria concentration was found at Rural Site II (14,650 CFU/m³) while the outdoor maximum occurred at the urban site (16,416 CFU/m³). With reference to fungi, both indoor and outdoor concentrations were considerably higher at Rural Site I than the other sites. The size distribution of culturable bacteria at all sites showed greater variability than that of culturable fungi. At all sites more than the half (55–93%) of the culturable bacterial and fungal counts were observed in the respirable fraction (<4.7 μm) and so had the potential to penetrate into lower respiratory system.

Heavy metals (HMs) and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) enter the Arctic environment through a variety of anthropogenic sources with deleterious effects towards biota and public health. Bacteria first transfer toxic compounds to higher trophic levels and, due to the tight link existing between prokaryotic community functions and the type and concentration of contaminants, they may be useful indicator of pollution events and potential toxicity to other forms of life. The occurrence and abundance of HM-tolerant and PCB-oxidizing bacteria in the sub-Arctic Pasvik river area, heavily impacted by anthropogenic modifications, was related to HM and PCB contamination. This latter more likely derived from local inputs rather than a global contamination with higher PCB and HM amounts (and higher bacterial viable counts) that were determined in inner and middle sections of the River. Finally, a panel of bacteria with potential applications in the bioremediation of cold environments were selected and phylogenetically identified.

The crude oil drilling and extraction operations are aimed to maximize the production may be counterbalanced by the huge production of contaminated produced water (PW). PW is conventionally treated through different physical, chemical, and biological technologies. The efficiency of suggested hybrid electrobiochemical (EBC) methods for the simultaneous removal of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and sulfate from PW generated by petroleum industry is studied. Also, the factors that affect the stability of PW quality are investigated. The results indicated that the effect of biological treatment is very important to keep control of the electrochemical by-products and more TPH removal in the EBC system. The maximum TPH and sulfate removal efficiency was achieved 75% and 25.3%, respectively when the detention time was about 5.1min and the energy consumption was 32.6mA/cm2. However, a slight increasing in total bacterial count was observed when the EBC compact unit worked at a flow rate of average 20L/h. Pseudo steady state was achieved after 30min of current application in the solution. Also, the results of the study indicate that when the current intensity was increased above optimum level, no significant results occurred due to the release of gases.

We examined the bacterial accumulation and digestion in the alien polychaete Branchiomma bairdi. Microbiological analyses were performed on worm homogenates from “unstarved” and “starved” individuals and on seawater from the same sampling site (Ionian Sea, Italy). Densities of culturable heterotrophic bacteria (22°C), total culturable bacteria (37°C) and vibrios were measured on Marine Agar 2216, Plate Count Agar and TCBS Agar, respectively. Microbial pollution indicators were determined by the most probable number method. B. bairdi was able to accumulate all the six considered microbiological groups which, however, differ in their resistance to digestion. B. bairdi results more efficient than the other two co-occurring sabellids in removing bacteria suggesting that it may counteract the effects of microbial pollution playing a potential role for in situ bioremediation. Thus a potential risk, such as the invasion of an alien species, could be transformed into a benefit with high potential commercial gain and economic feasibility.

The goal of this study was to determine the potential for Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) contamination in tropical marine waters. Samples were collected from urban, suburban, and rural sites around the islands of Puerto Rico and The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Quantification of E. coli and EHEC was evaluated using MI plates and qPCR. EHEC was detected in six sites in Puerto Rico: West of La Parguera Town, Boquilla, Oro Creek, Fishers Association, Joyuda Lagoon, and Boqueron Wetland Creek and in two rural sites in Trinidad: Balandra Bay and Quinam Bay. Plate count enumeration of E. coli was not a reliable indicator for the presence of EHEC. The sites where EHEC was detected on both islands are used for recreational bathing, water sports and recreational/commercial fisheries and therefore pose a public potential health risk.

Dynamics of microbial community and biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in polluted marine sediments, artificially spiked with a mixture of PAHs (fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene), were examined for a period of 60days. Microbial communities were characterised by bacterial counts, ester-linked fatty acid methyl ester (EL-FAME) analysis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). A noted reduction in species diversity occurred only in the high PAH level treatment at onset. Both EL-FAME and DGGE demonstrated a marked shift in microbial community, in all the PAH level treatments, afterwards, with increases in the number of fatty acid degraders, the relative abundance of fatty acid biomarkers for gram-negative bacteria and a decrease in species diversity. The shift was also accompanied by the significant decrease in PAH concentrations. By the end of the experiment, diversity indices, based on both approaches, recovered when PAH concentrations declined to their background levels, except in the high PAH level treatment.

From 2006 to 2008, microbial water quality was monitored along the Georgian coast of the Black Sea. Temperature, pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen were measured, along with a variety of aquatic microbial parameters, including heterotrophic plate count (HPC), total culturable bacterial count (TCBC), and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration. Total and fecal coliforms and total enterococci counts were recorded as indicators of fecal pollution. Vibrio bacteria, and Escherichia coli- and Vibrio-specific bacteriophages were isolated and enumerated to determine their relationships to standard marine pollution indicators. Persistent microbial pollution was observed, particularly in the summer months, with a higher rate of contamination in estuaries. Microbial indicators generally showed seasonal dependence, suggesting that temperature may influence bacterial dynamics in this environment. No correlation was apparent between fecal pollution indicators and physical–chemical and aquatic microbial parameters, although there were significant relationships amongst the indicators themselves, as well as with the prevalence of Vibrio bacteria and phage.