Deep-sea plastisphere: Long-term colonization by plastic-associated bacterial and archaeal communities in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean.

Marine plastic pollution is a global concern because of continuous release into the oceans over the last several decades. Although recent studies have made efforts to characterize the so-called plastisphere, or microbial community inhabiting plastic substrates, it is not clear whether the plastisphere is defined as a core community or as a random attachment of microbial cells. Likewise, little is known about the influence of the deep-sea environment on the plastisphere. In our experimental study, we evaluated the microbial colonization on polypropylene pellets and two types of plastic bags: regular high density polyethylene (HDPE) and HDPE with the oxo-biodegradable additive BDA. Gravel was used as control. Samples were deployed at three sites at 3300 m depth in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean and left for microbial colonization for 719 days. For microbial communities analysis, DNA was extracted from the biofilm on plastic and gravel substrates, and then the 16S rRNA was sequenced through the Illumina Miseq platform. Cultivation was performed to isolate strains from the plastic and gravel substrates. Substrate type strongly influenced the microbial composition and structure, while no difference between sites was detected. Although several taxa were shared among plastics, we observed some groups specific for each plastic substrate. These communities comprised taxa previously reported from both epipelagic zones and deep-sea benthic ecosystems. The core microbiome (microbial taxa shared by all plastic substrates) was exclusively composed by low abundance taxa, with some members well-described in the plastisphere and with known plastic-degradation capabilities. Additionally, we obtained bacterial strains that have been previously reported inhabiting plastic substrates and/or degrading hydrocarbon compounds, which corroborates our metabarcoding data and suggests the presence of microbial members potentially active and involved with degradation of these plastics in the deep sea.

Detection of Cryptosporidium spp. Oocysts in raw sewage and creek water in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

The protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium has emerged as one of the most important contaminants of water, causing waterborne outbreaks of gastroenteritis worldwide. To monitor and understand the public health significance of this pathogen in environmental samples, several methods have been developed to isolate and detect Cryptosporidium oocysts. The purpose of this study was to perform the first investigation on the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts in raw sewage and creek water in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The oocysts were concentrated by flocculation and membrane filtration. The results showed the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in all wastewater samples analyzed, indicating a possible risk for dissemination of these pathogens in aquatic environment and in the community.

Detection of "Cryptosporidium" sp. oocysts in groundwater for human consumption in Itaquaquecetuba city, São Paulo-Brazil

"Cryptosporidium" is an emergent pathogen that causes profuse diarrhea in humans. Outbreaks of human crypstosporidiosis have implicated water as a possible source of contamination. In this study the presence of "Cryptosporidium" sp. oocysts was investigated as well as the fecal contamination in groundwater for consumption in Itaquaquecetuba - São Paulo. Therefore, it was possible to notice that the septic tanks were located close to the wells, exposing them to the risk of contamination. As a consequence of these results and observations efficient disinfecting practices and groundwater monitoring are recommended.

Ocorrência de Legionella spp em águas provenientes de residencias, prédios públicos e de ambientes hospitalares e industriais de Säo Paulo - Brasil / Occurrence of legionella sp in water samples from man-made systems of Säo Paulo - Brazil

Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi pesquisar a ocorrência de Legionella sp em águas residenciais, de prédios públicos e de ambientes hospitalares e industriais. Foram analisadas sessenta e nove amostras de água procedentes de torres de refrigeraçäo, caldeiras, chuveiros, torneiras, reservatórios e outros pontos específicos de prédios públicos, residências, hospitais e industrias. As amostras foram submetidas à concentraçäo e em seguida aos tratamentos ácido e térmico em paralelo, e entäo foram inoculadas em Agar BCYE com ou sem adiçäo de antibióticos. Amostras näo previamentes tratadas foram também utilizadas. Seis amostras apresentaram um total de dezenove colônias positivas sendo onze confirmadas como Legionella sorogrupo 6 e uma como Legionella bozemanii. Melhores resultados foram obtidos nas amostras sem tratamento. Este trabalho comprova a presença de Legionella em nosso meio e a necesidade do desenvolvimento de métodos simples, rápidos e econômicos para sua detecçäo em programas de vigilância e controle (au)

Utilizaçäo de bactérias e fungos como indicadores na avaliaçäo de fatores fisiográficos que interferem nos processos de auto-depuraçäo de um córrego sub-tropical / Utilization of bacteria and fungi as indicators in the evaluation of physiographyc factors that interfere in the self-depuration process in a subtropical stream

O estudo de autodepuraçäo de um córrego sub-tropical, córrego do Agriäo, afluente do Rio Jacaré-Pepira, S. P., que recebe afluentes de resíduos domésticos e pecuários foi efetuado utilizando-se indicadores biológicos: coliformes totais (CT) e fecais (CF), estreptococos fecais (EF), fungos aquáticos e geofungos. O período de estudo abrangeu duas estiagens e um período de chuvas. Foi observada a influência das condiçöes fisiográficas na auto-depuraçäo do curso d'água. A relaçäo CF/EF possibilitou a caracterizaçäo da origem dos despejos e constatou-se que o número de leveduras, (U.F.C./ml), foi bom indicador de poluiçäo de origem fecal, o que näo ocorreu com bolores aquáticos e terrestres