Who lives in our dishwasher? Preliminar results of fungal metagenomic analysis of household dishwashers

Abstract

Who lives in our dishwasher? Preliminar results of fungal metagenomic analysis of household dishwashersIn the last few years the advances in molecular biological methods, especially the development of next generation sequencing, have drastically changed and improved our view of microbial world. Progress in new molecular techniques enables us to overcome potential disadvantages of traditional microbiological techniques in fungal community identifications. It also enables us to evaluate the richness of fungal populations more efficiently and reliably. In the present study, we used the Ion Torrent PGM next generation sequencing platform to analyse fungi present in ordinary household dishwashers. The identification was based on massive parallel sequencing of the D2 LSU rRNA amplicon. The analysis revealed rich and diverse fungal communities present in our dishwashers. Interpretation of the results was based on previously published research by Zalar et al. (2011). The results of our study confirmed that the new technology in many ways surpasses classical methods used in fungal analysis by offering quicker, reliable, more sensitive and inexpensive high-throughput identification of microorganisms in entire communities.Key words: molecular biology / molecular techniques / fungi / metagenomics / next generation sequencing / Ion Torrent PGM / household dishwashers Kdo živi v našem pomivalnem stroju? Preliminarni rezultati metagenomske analize gliv v gospodinjskih pomivalnih strojih Na področju metagenomike je napredek molekularno bioloških metod, predvsem razvoj naslednje generacije sekvenciranja, dramatično spremenil in razširil pogled na mikrobni svet. Napredek novih molekularnih tehnik nam omogoča premagovanje pomanjkljivosti tradicionalnih mikrobioloških tehnik, predvsem pri identifikacij populacij gliv. Z novim pristopom dobimo učinkovitejšo in zanesljivejšo ocenitev števila vrst gliv v določenih populacijah. V naši raziskavi smo uporabili tehnologijo naslednje generacije sekveniranja Ion Torrent za analizo prisotnosti gliv v gospodinjskih pomivalnih strojih. Identifikacija je temeljila na masivni paralelni določitvi nukleotidnega zaporedja podenote D2 LSU glivnega gena rRNA. S končno analizo smo potrdili bogate in raznolike skupnosti gliv v naših pomivalnih strojih, interpretacija rezultatov pa je temeljila na že objavljenih predhodnih raziskavah Zalarjeve in sod. (2011). Rezultati naše raziskave so potrdili, da nova tehnologija na mnogih področjih presega klasične mikrobiološke metode, ki se uporabljajo pri analizi skupnosti gliv in ponuja hitrejšo, zanesljivejšo, občutljivejšo ter cenejšo identifikacijo mikroorganizmov v skupnosti.Ključne besede: molekularna biologija / molekularne tehnike / glive / metagenomika / naslednja generacija sekveniranja / Ion Torrent PGM / gospodinjski pomivalni stroji

Dishwashers: Literature Review to Summarise the Multi-Dimensionality of Sustainable Production and Consumption

“…Pathogens lurk in the water used for dishwashing, as well as in the biodegradable organic food residues on the dishes [12][13][14][15][16]52,78], some of which may get trapped inside the dishwasher for long times, forming in the process, substrates for saprobial growth. The repeatedly oxidative, moist, alkaline, and high-temperature environs prevailing within a dishwasher are conducive for a phylogenetically diverse mycobacterial-algal biofilm formation on rubber seals [17][18][19]52,83], and the development of antibiotic resistance among bacteria [69], with new dishwashers, operated frequently with moderately hard water and low temperatures, emerging as the best 'harbours' of such active biofilms, as per a study done in [15].…”

“…The food residues on plates are held culpable for contaminating the dishwasher and the wastewater, and thereby also dishes, with pathogenic bacteria by [15]. Among fungi, the Exophiala taxon, which has the ability to assimilate detergents, breaks down aromatic hydrocarbons and resists antibiotics, dominated in dishwasher samples tested from around the world by [13,17], though, as Koren and colleagues [16] have noted, in general, the fungal biomes differ in composition and richness. While these are issues certainly to be taken seriously in hospitals [20,81], in homes where immunosuppressed patients dwell, the dishwasher can be a very likely cause of dangerous fungal and/or bacterial infections, primarily affecting the lungs.…”