Development of heat-shock resistance in Legionella pneumophila modeled by experimental evolution.

ABSTRACT: Because it can grow in buildings with complex hot water distribution systems (HWDS), healthcare facilities recognize the waterborne bacterium Legionella pneumophila as a major nosocomial infection threat and often try to clear the systems with a pasteurization process known as superheat-and-flush. After this treatment, many facilities find that the contaminating populations slowly recover, suggesting the possibility of in situ evolution favoring increased survival in high-temperature conditions. To mimic this process in a controlled environment, an adaptive laboratory evolution model was used to select a wild-type strain of L. pneumophila for survival to transient exposures to temperatures characteristic of routine hot water use or failed pasteurization processes in HW

SUBMITTER: Liang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10537758 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature