Pre-Columbian Archeological Textiles: A Source of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Virulence Attributes

OTLEWSKA, ANNA; MACHNOWSKI, WALDEMAR; GUIAMET, PATRICIA S.; RAJKOWSKA, KATARZYNA; WRZOSEK, HENRYK

Applied Sciences

MDPI and ACS Style

Año: 2020 vol. 10 p. 1 - 11

: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen associated with a broad spectrum ofinfections in humans. However, the pathogenicity of environmental P. aeruginosa strains, especiallyisolates from museums and conservation laboratories, is not widely recognized. In this study, thevirulence attributes of P. aeruginosa isolated from pre-Columbian textiles were compared to those of aclinical strain. Both genetically identified environmental strains (KP842564 and KP842565) exhibiteda high ability to form biofilms on abiotic surfaces and high hemolytic activity. In addition, strainKP842564 was a moderate pyocyanin producer and showed proteolytic properties toward bovineserum albumin, fibrinogen, mucin, and casein. In contrast to the clinical isolate, the environmentalstrains were susceptible to all the tested antimicrobial agents. The strains also showed high bioadhesionand colonization capacity on archeological textile samples, in which wool fibers were the only sourceof nutrients, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(SEM-EDX) analysis. This study highlights the need to identify microorganisms which inhabit historicobjects, in order to avoid exposure to occupational hazards. Although the strain KP842565 exhibitedonly some of the examined virulence-related features, given that the production of pyocyanin andhemolysins as well as the formation of biofilm are important virulence factors of P. aeruginosa, theresults indicate that these strains may present a potential health risk for humans.