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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 1998, p. 4410-4415, Vol. 64, No. 11
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Airborne Actinomycete Spores with Fluorogenic Substrates

S. V. Gazenko, T. A. Reponen,* S. A. Grinshpun, and K. Willeke

Aerosol Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0056

Received 1 May 1998/Accepted 7 August 1998

The reactions between seven fluorogenic substrates and different groups of enzymes, esterases, lipases, phosphatases, and dehydrogenases, were studied in a search for a new method for the detection of actinomycete spores. Fluorescence measurement was chosen as a fast and sensitive method for microbial analysis. The focus of the research was on the spores of important air contaminants: Streptomyces albus and Thermoactinomyces vulgaris. For the measurement of the enzymatic activity, the chosen fluorogenic substrate was added to a mixture of spores and nutrient media, and the resulting fluorescence was measured with a spectrofluorometer. Fluorogenic substrates were found to show enzymatic activities even for dormant spores. Comparison of the enzymatic activities of dormant spores with those of vegetative cells showed similarity of the enzymatic profiles but higher activity for vegetative cells. The increase of enzymatic activity from dormant spores to vegetative cells was not linear but fluctuating. The largest fluctuations were found after 4 to 5 h of incubation. The enzymatic activities of S. albus were 10 to 50 times lower than those of T. vulgaris, except for the dehydrogenase activity, which was seven times higher. These results indicate that analysis with fluorogenic substrates has the potential for becoming a fast and sensitive method for the enumeration and identification of airborne actinomycete spores.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Aerosol Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 670056, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056. Phone: (513) 558-0571. Fax: (513) 558-2263. E-mail: Tiina.Reponen{at}uc.edu.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 1998, p. 4410-4415, Vol. 64, No. 11
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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Copyright © 1998 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.