Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria from Public Libraries via Proteomics Analysis

Ryan Hyunjae Jung, Minzae Kim, Bhoomi Bhatt, Jong Min Choi and Jung H. Roh
Additional contact information
Ryan Hyunjae Jung: Carnegie Vanguard High School, Houston, TX 77019, USA
Minzae Kim: Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Bhoomi Bhatt: Verna & Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Jong Min Choi: Advanced Technology Core, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Jung H. Roh: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-10

Abstract: Hazardous organisms may thrive on surfaces that are often exposed to human contact, including children’s library books. In this study, swab samples were taken from 42 children’s books collected from four public libraries in Texas and California. Samples were then cultivated in brain–heart infusion (BHI) medium and then in Luria broth (LB) medium containing either ampicillin or kanamycin. All 42 samples (100%) were positive for bacterial growth in normal BHI medium. Furthermore, 35 samples (83.3%) and 20 samples (47.6%) in total were positive in LB medium containing ampicillin or kanamycin, respectively. Bacterial populations were then identified in samples using an Orbitrap Fusion™ Tribrid ™ mass spectrometer, a state-of-the-art proteomic analysis tool. Identified bacterial species grown in ampicillin included Bacillus , Acinetobacter , Pseudomonas , Staphylococcus , Enterobacter , Klebsiella , Serratia , Streptococcus , Escherichia , Salmonella , and Enterococcus . In contrast, identified bacteria grown in kanamycin included Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus , and Bacillus . The presences of pathogenic bacteria species were also confirmed. The results of this study warrant follow up studies to assess the potential health risks of identified pathogens. This study demonstrates the utility of proteomics in identifying environmental pathogenic bacteria for specific public health risk evaluations.

Keywords: pathogenic bacteria; proteomics analysis; library books; environmental risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/6/912/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/6/912/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:6:p:912-:d:213719

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().