Although microbial contaminations of domestic appliances are believed to gain importance, especially due to the trend towards lower cleaning temperatures, little is known about the existing microbial communities inside household washing machines. This study aimed to improve the knowledge of microbial composition of biofilms within household washing machines using a cultural-independent technology. Biofilms inside the detergent drawer and the rubber door seal of household washing machines were analysed using the 454-pyrosequencing method. The microbial community inside washing machines appeared to be highly diverse with Proteobacteria as the main prokaryotic and Basidiomycota and Ascomycota as the main fungal colonizers.Key words: biofilm, household washing machine, pyrosequencing, biodiversityCharakterisierung mikrobieller Gemeinschaften in Haushaltswaschmaschinen. Obwohl die mikrobielle Kolonisation von Haushaltsgeräten, insbesondere aufgrund des anhaltenden Trends hin zu niedrigen Wasch-und Reinigungstemperaturen, an Bedeutung gewinnen dürfte, ist wenig über die mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften in Haushaltswaschmaschinen bekannt. Im Rahmen dieser Studie wurden die mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften in der Einspülkammer und der Türdichtung von Waschmaschinen mittels 454-Pyrosequencing analysiert, wobei Proteobakterien als die dominanten prokaryotischen Besiedler ermittelt wurden, während Basidiomycota und Ascomycota die am häufigsten gefundenen Pilze innerhalb einer hoch diversen Gemeinschaft darstellten.
Data on the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the domestic environment are limited. This study suggests that β-lactamase genes in washing machines and dishwashers are frequent, and that antibiotic-resistant strains are generally more resistant to the used washing conditions.
Highlights
Effective reduction of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity by chemical inactivation without affecting assay performance.
SARS-CoV-2 IVD for the cobas 6800/8800 is linear over up to six log steps in different materials including human plasma.
Minimal variance of CT values between testing sites indicates high comparability of quantification results.
The metallo--lactamase GIM-1 (German imipenemase) has been found so far only in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Germany. Here we report the detection of bla GIM-1 in a clinical strain of Serratia marcescens that was isolated from urine, blood, and wound samples over a period of 20 months. The strain was repeatedly isolated from one patient in two German hospitals and an outpatient department located in the region in which all previously described GIM-1-producing P. aeruginosa strains were identified.
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