Assessment of the Bacterial Diversity of Aircraft Water: Identification of the Frequent Fliers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine and identify bacteria inhabiting the supply chain of an airline’s drinking water using phenotypic and 16S rDNA sequence-based analysis. Water samples (n = 184) were sourced from long-haul and short-haul aircraft, the airline water source and a water service vehicle. In total, 308 isolates were characterised and their identity determined, which produced 82 identified bacterial species belonging to eight classes: γ-Proteobacteria; β-Proteobacteria; α-Proteobacteria; Bacilli; Actinobacteria; Flavobacteria; Sphingobacteria and Cytophaga. Statistical differences in bacterial diversity were found to exist across sampling locations (X2 = 39.220, p = 0.009) and furthermore, differences were observed (X2 = 15.475, p = 0.030) across aircraft type (long- or short-haul). This study demonstrates the diverse nature of microorganisms within the aircraft drinking water supply chain. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most extensive study undertaken to date of microbial diversity in aircraft drinking water.

Brevundimonas spp: Emerging global opportunistic pathogens

“…Opportunistic pathogens from this group include many different bacterial species, including: Acinetobacter baumannii , Burkholderia cepacia , Ralstonia pickettii , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Sphingomonas pauciomobilis , and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia [ 1–8 ]. The group can survive in a wide variety of environments including different water sources (aircraft water, bottled water, hospital water, purified water) [ 9–12 ], and are usually resistant to a wide array of antimicrobials [ 13 , 14 ]. Examples include resistance to penicillins, aminoglycosides and monobactems in R. pickettii [ 13 ] and penicillins, aminoglycosides, carbapenems and monobactems in S. maltophilia [ 14 ].…”

“…Brevundimonas spp. have been isolated from multiple environments, including soils [ 9–21 ], deep subsea floor sediment [ 22 ] activated sludge,[ 23 ] black sand, [ 24 ], deep subsea floor sediment [ 25 ] numerous aquatic habitats [ 26 ], purified water [ 27 ] and also from the condensation water of a Russian space laboratory [ 28 ].…”

Complete Genome Sequence of Brevundimonas sp. Strain SGAir0440, Isolated from Indoor Air in Singapore

“…Members of the Brevundimonas genus are nonfermenting, aerobic, Gram-negative, motile bacteria classified in the phylum Proteobacteria (1). The genus was first proposed in 1994 by Segers et al, separated from the genera Pseudomonas and Caulobacter, and its type species is Brevundimonas diminuta (2).…”

“…The genus was first proposed in 1994 by Segers et al, separated from the genera Pseudomonas and Caulobacter, and its type species is Brevundimonas diminuta (2). Due to its small size (1 to 4 μm by 0.5 μm), it is used as a test organism for filtration pore size and to validate reverse-osmosis filtration devices (1). Brevundimonas spp.…”

The Genus Ochrobactrum as Major Opportunistic Pathogens

“…Ochrobactrum spp. are found in a wide variety of environments including water, aircraft water, soil, plants and animals [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Several Ochrobactrum spp.…”