Rapid monitoring of bacterial growth and metabolism with the PMEU Unit from clinical, environmental, food and process industry samples

THE PRESENTATION OF PMEU TECHNOLOGY AT THE NEW ZEALAND MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEETING 2ND OF DECEMBER 2010, AUCKLAND, WITH THE MOTTO “small things, BIG ideas” BY ADJUNCT PROFESSOR ELIAS HAKALEHTO

ABSTRACT


The idea of constructing a cultivator where microbe enrichment could be started on the sampling site has fascinated us for many years. In the PMEU (Portable Microbe Enrichment Unit) one actually intensifies the research on metabolic reactions in a multiplied scale. This equipment also simulates the interactions between different microbes, and it therefore can be used for studying microbial ecosystems.

Sampling in an Austrian hospital during three years from the bile specimens of about 250 patients indicated that coliformic bacteria and fecal enterococci represented around 60% of the microflora in this part of the gastrointestinal tract. The mixed acid fermenting coliformic strains and the neutral end-products producing Klebsiella/Enterobacter group were shown to live in symbiosis in the PMEU cultures implying to their cooperation in the duodenum. This gives an idea how the microbial community maintains intestinal conditions by regulating the pH and other parameters.

The PMEU Spectrion® equipment validated by the State Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has Ethernet connections which make it possible to follow up the microbe enrichment and detection process in real time. The water department field trials are reported. The PMEU can be used to monitor directly both hygiene indicator strains as well as pathogenic bacteria, both in water and in food. A recent report involving the National Institute of Health and Welfare in Finland describes detection of Campylobacter sp. from natural and household waters using the combination of PMEU enrichment and the real time PCR.

In hospital tests at Kuopio University Hospital in Finland, the PMEU Scentrion® gas sensing bacterial cultivator has been validated for the microbiological blood testing of neonatal and cancer patients. The PMEU has also been used for monitoring the development of the microflora after the birth or antibiosis. The enhanced enrichment could be used effectively for improving the recovery of bacterial cells in the detection process.