Bacterial diversity assessed by cultivation-based techniques shows predominance ofStaphylococccusspecies on coins collected in Lisbon and Casablanca

Abstract

Money is usually considered a source of infections, yet survival of bacteria on dry metal surfaces is limited. The aim of this work was to assess the bacterial numbers and diversity on coins collected in Casablanca and Lisbon as these two cities, on different continents and only 585 km apart, have diverse cultural habitats, but have similar climate. A cultivation-based characterisation of the bacterial community showed that a relatively low number of cells per area of coin were found on both Moroccan Dirhams and Euros (0.014 and 0.125 colony-forming units (CFU) mm(-2) , respectively). Most of the bacterial isolates were located near the rim of the coins, and coins collected in Europe contained more CFU/area of coin. Coins collected in Europe and transported in pockets presented a higher number of bacterial isolates (maximum 0.125 CFU mm(-2) ) than coins transported in wallets (maximum 0.042 CFU mm(-2) ), regardless of the gender of the person transporting them, suggesting that temperature and moisture might be key parameters for bacterial survival on metallic coins. Bacterial diversity was higher for coins collected in Casablanca relative to coins collected in Lisbon, and there was no evidence that it was dependent on the gender of the person transporting the coins or the place of transport (pockets or wallets). Curiously, the percentage of Staphylococcus strains was 44% of the total isolates on both currencies.

Characterization of Pathogenic Bacteria Isolated from Sudanese Banknotes and Determination of Their Resistance Profile

“…was the most abundant Gram-positive isolate. Different species of bacteria isolated in this study were very similar to those isolated in previous studies [ 8 , 18 , 39 , 40 ]; however, studies carried out in Saudi Arabia [ 3 ], Pakistan [ 26 ], Ghana [ 5 ], India [ 25 ], Iraq [ 19 ], and France [ 13 ] established Gram-positive bacteria as the major isolates from the contaminated banknotes.…”

The multidrug resistance transporters CgTpo1_1 and CgTpo1_2 play a role in virulence and biofilm formation in the human pathogenCandida glabrata

“…The fatty acid profile of the C. glabrata strains, harvested after 24 and 48 hr of planktonic or biofilm growth in a polystyrene surface in RPMI 1640 medium (Sigma), pH 4, was characterized. Cell fatty acids (FAs) were simultaneously extracted and methylated to FA methyl esters (FAME), using the Instant FAME kit procedure according to the instructions provided by MIDI Inc. (Newark, DE; de Carvalho & Caramujo, ). FAME were analyzed on a 6890 N gas chromatograph from Agilent Technologies (Palo Alto, CA), with a flame ionization detector and a 7683 B series injector, equipped with a 25 m Agilent J&W Ultra 2 capillary column from Agilent.…”

Using Biotechnology to Solve Engineering Problems: Non-Destructive Testing of Microfabrication Components

“…Two Staphylococcus strains were isolated from samples collected from the space between the battery and the circuit board of mobile phones using sterile cotton swabs. The cells were screened for their ability to move in response to a magnetic field and were identified using the Sherlock ® Microbial ID System (MIDI, Inc., Newark, DE, USA), as previously described [ 38 , 39 ]. In summary, tryptic soy agar plates containing each isolate were grown at 30 °C for 24 ± 1 h, after which the exponentially growing cells were harvested, and their fatty acids were extracted and methylated to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) using the Instant FAME procedure according to the instructions provided by MIDI.…”