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SURVIVAL OF BACTERIA DURING AEROSOLIZATION
Citation:
Marthi, B., V. Fieland, M. Walter, AND R. Seidler. SURVIVAL OF BACTERIA DURING AEROSOLIZATION. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-90/433 (NTIS PB91177147), 1990.
Description:
One form of commercial application of microorganisms, including genetically engineered microorganisms is as an aerosol. To study the effect of aerosol-induced stress on bacterial survival, nonrecombinant spontaneous antibiotic-resistant mutants of four organisms, Enterobacter cloacae, Erwinia herbicola, Klebsiella planticola, and Pseodomonas syringae, were sprayed in separate experiments in a greenhouse. amples were collected over a distance of 15 m from the spray site for enumeration. pores of Bacillus subtilis were used as tracers to estimate the effects of dilution on changes in population over distance. iable counts of P. syringae, Enterobacter cloacae, and K. planticola decreased significantly over a distance of 15 m. rwinia herbicola showed no significant decline in counts over the same distance. he degree of survival of P. syringae during aerosolization was dependent on ambient environmental conditions (i.e., temperature, relative humidity, droplet size of the aerosol, and prior preparative conditions. Survival was greatest at high relative humidities (70 to 80%) and low temperatures (12 degrees C). urvival was reduced when small droplet sizes are used. he process of bashing the cells prior to aerosolization also caused a reduction in their survival. esults from these experiments will be useful in developing sound methodologies to optimize enumeration and for predicting the downwind dispersal of airborne microorganisms, including genetically engineered microorganisms.
