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Interactions of Leptospira with Environmental Bacteria from Surface Water

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Abstract

Leptospires can persist for months in nutrient-poor aqueous environments prior to transmission to a mammalian host. Interactions with environmental bacteria and biofilm formation are possible mechanisms of persistence of leptospires in the environment. Bacteria isolated from rivers in the Ecuadorian rainforest were tested for their ability to support leptospiral viability. We found that co-culture with Sphingomonas spp., but not Flavobacterium spp. or Delftia spp., enabled survival of L. biflexa and L. meyeri for up to a year in distilled water. We also found that L. interrogans biofilms formed in distilled water contained viable organisms that rapidly dispersed into the planktonic phase in the presence of nutrients in serum or EMJH medium. These data inform our understanding of leptospiral survival strategies that enable long-term persistence in nutrient-poor conditions yet allow rapid mobilization when nutrients become available.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Veronica Barragan, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, P.O. Box 17-1200-841, Quito, Ecuador

    Veronica A. Barragan, María Eugenia Mejia, Andrés Trávez, Sonia Zapata & Gabriel A. Trueba

  2. VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (GLA), 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    David A. Haake

  3. The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    David A. Haake

  4. WHO/FAO/OIE and National Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis, Department of Biomedical Research, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Rudy A. Hartskeerl

Authors
  1. Veronica A. Barragan
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  2. María Eugenia Mejia
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  3. Andrés Trávez
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  4. Sonia Zapata
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  5. Rudy A. Hartskeerl
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  6. David A. Haake
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  7. Gabriel A. Trueba
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Correspondence to Veronica A. Barragan.

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Work performed in: Quito-Ecuador (South America).

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Barragan, V.A., Mejia, M.E., Trávez, A. et al. Interactions of Leptospira with Environmental Bacteria from Surface Water. Curr Microbiol 62, 1802–1806 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-9931-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-9931-3

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