Significance and Roles of Proteus spp. Bacteria in Natural Environments

Abstract

Proteus spp. bacteria were first described in 1885 by Gustav Hauser, who had revealed their feature of intensive swarming growth. Currently, the genus is divided into Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Proteus penneri, Proteus hauseri, and three unnamed genomospecies 4, 5, and 6 and consists of 80 O-antigenic serogroups. The bacteria are known to be human opportunistic pathogens, isolated from urine, wounds, and other clinical sources. It is postulated that intestines are a reservoir of these proteolytic organisms. Many wild and domestic animals may be hosts of Proteus spp. bacteria, which are commonly known to play a role of parasites or commensals. However, interesting examples of their symbiotic relationships with higher organisms have also been described. Proteus spp. bacteria present in soil or water habitats are often regarded as indicators of fecal pollution, posing a threat of poisoning when the contaminated water or seafood is consumed. The health risk may also be connected with drug-resistant strains sourcing from intestines. Positive aspects of the bacteria presence in water and soil are connected with exceptional features displayed by autochthonic Proteus spp. strains detected in these environments. These rods acquire various metabolic abilities allowing their adaptation to different environmental conditions, such as high concentrations of heavy metals or toxic substances, which may be exploited as sources of energy and nutrition by the bacteria. The Proteus spp. abilities to tolerate or utilize polluting compounds as well as promote plant growth provide a possibility of employing these microorganisms in bioremediation and environmental protection.

Immunochemical characterization of the O antigens of two Proteus strains, O8-related antigen of Proteus mirabilis 12 B-r and O2-related antigen of Proteus genomospecies 5/6 12 B-k, infecting a hospitalized patient in Poland

“…Strains of these O serogroups have not been reported as the most prevalent clinical isolates in different countries (Larsson, 1984), including central Poland (Drzewiecka, 2016;D. Drzewiecka, unpublished data).…”

“…The bacteria may play the role of commensals, symbionts or parasites of many domestic and wild animals and are found in faecally polluted water and soil (Drzewiecka, 2016). All Proteus species are recognized as human opportunistic pathogens, most frequently responsible for urinary tract infections.…”

Hole‐in‐the‐head disease in discus fish, Symphysodon (Heckel, 1840): Is it a consequence of a dietary Ca/P imbalance?

“…In context with a publication by Peyghan, Boloki, and Ghorbanpour () who described HITH disease associated with the isolation of Aeromonas hydrophila , bacteria were cultured from the sensory pores and the surrounding skin of each fish in our experiment. All isolated bacteria represented only a few orders (Table S1) and can be found in waters and biofilms as opportunistic microbes (Drzewiecka, ; Walczak, Puk, & Guz, ). Despite their ability to cause diseases and mortality of fish under favourable conditions (Austin & Austin, ), this did not apply to any fish in this experiment.…”

Microbiota sampled from a polluted stream in Recife-PE, Brazil and its importance to public health

“…has been described as an important infectious agent in hospital environments (Chen et al, 2014;Murray et al, 2015). Bacteria from the genus, are commonly found in the environment, especially in locations with water pollution and soils with degraded material (Drzewiecka, 2016). A study performed in hospitals located in northeast Brazil, the same region as the present study, isolated P. mirabilis, which produces extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), have been reported to be an important cause of nosocomial infection in worldwide (Abreu et al, 2011).…”