Methylmercury (MeHg) is one of the most dangerous heavy metal for living organisms that may be found in environment. Given the crescent industrialization of Brazil and considering that mercury is a residue of several industrial processes, there is an increasing need to encounter and develop remediation approaches of mercury contaminated sites. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize methylmercury resistant bacteria from soils and sludge sewage from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Sixteen bacteria were isolated from these contaminated sites and some isolates were highly resistant to methylmercury (>8.7 μM). All the isolates were identified by 16S rDNA. Pseudomonas putida V1 was able to volatilize approximately 90 % of methylmercury added to growth media and to resist to copper, lead, nickel, chromate, zinc, cobalt, manganese and barium. In the presence of high concentrations of methylmercury (12 μM), cell growth was limited, but P. putida V1 was still able to remove up to 29 % of this compound from culture medium. This bacterium removed an average of 77 % of methylmercury from culture medium with pH in the range 4.0-6.0. In addition, methylmercury was efficiently removed (>80 %) in temperature of 21-25 °C. Polymerase chain reactions indicated the presence of merA but not merB in P. putida V1. The growth and ability of P. putida V1 to remove methylmercury in a wide range of pH (4.0 and 8.0) and temperature (10-35 °C), its tolerance to other heavy metals and ability to grow in the presence of up to 11.5 μM of methylmercury, suggest this strain as a new potential resource for degrading methylmercury contaminated sites.
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in neonates. Guidelines from CDC recommend universal screening of pregnant women for rectovaginal GBS colonization. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of a combined enrichment/PCR based method targeting the atr gene in relation to culture using enrichment with selective broth medium (standard method) to identify the presence of GBS in pregnant women. Rectovaginal GBS samples from women at ≥36 weeks of pregnancy were obtained with a swab and analyzed by the two methods. A total of 89 samples were evaluated. The prevalence of positive results for GBS detection was considerable higher when assessed by the combined enrichment/PCR method than with the standard method (35.9% versus 22.5%, respectively). The results demonstrated that the use of selective enrichment broth followed by PCR targeting the atr gene is a highly sensitive, specific and accurate test for GBS screening in pregnant women, allowing the detection of the bacteria even in lightly colonized patients. This PCR methodology may provide a useful diagnostic tool for GBS detection and contributes for a more accurate and effective intrapartum antibiotic and lower newborn mortality and morbidity
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