Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE)
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/9334
At the Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE), multidisciplinary research teams develop beneficial uses for microbial biofilms and find solutions to industrially relevant biofilm problems. The CBE was established at Montana State University, Bozeman, in 1990 as a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. As part of the MSU College of Engineering, the CBE gives students a chance to get a head start on their careers by working on research teams led by world-recognized leaders in the biofilm field.
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Item Metagenomic Profiling of Microbial Pathogens in the Little Bighorn River, Montana(2019-03) Hamner, Steve; Brown, Bonnie L.; Hasan, Nur A.; Franklin, Michael J.; Doyle, John T.; Eggers, Margaret J.; Colwell, Rita R.; Ford, Tim E.The Little Bighorn River is the primary source of water for water treatment plants serving the local Crow Agency population, and has special significance in the spiritual and ceremonial life of the Crow tribe. Unfortunately, the watershed suffers from impaired water quality, with high counts of fecal coliform bacteria routinely measured during run-off events. A metagenomic analysis was carried out to identify potential pathogens in the river water. The Oxford Nanopore MinION platform was used to sequence DNA in near real time to identify both uncultured and a coliform-enriched culture of microbes collected from a popular summer swimming area of the Little Bighorn River. Sequences were analyzed using CosmosID bioinformatics and, in agreement with previous studies, enterohemorrhagic and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and other E. coli pathotypes were identified. Noteworthy was detection and identification of enteroaggregative E. coli O104:H4 and Vibrio cholerae serotype O1 El Tor, however, cholera toxin genes were not identified. Other pathogenic microbes, as well as virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance markers, were also identified and characterized by metagenomic analyses. It is concluded that metagenomics provides a useful and potentially routine tool for identifying in an in-depth manner microbial contamination of waterways and, thereby, protecting public health.Item Detection of Pathogenic and Non-pathogenic Bacteria in Drinking Water and Associated Biofilms on the Crow Reservation, Montana, USA(2018-07) Richards, Crystal L.; Broadaway, Susan C.; Eggers, Margaret J.; Doyle, John T.; Pyle, Barry H.; Camper, Anne K.; Ford, Tim E.Private residences in rural areas with water systems that are not adequately regulated, monitored, and updated could have drinking water that poses a health risk. To investigate water quality on the Crow Reservation in Montana, water and biofilm samples were collected from 57 public buildings and private residences served by either treated municipal or individual groundwater well systems. Bacteriological quality was assessed including detection of fecal coliform bacteria and heterotrophic plate count (HPC) as well as three potentially pathogenic bacterial genera, Mycobacterium, Legionella, and Helicobacter. All three target genera were detected in drinking water systems on the Crow Reservation. Species detected included the opportunistic and frank pathogens Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium gordonae, Mycobacterium flavescens, Legionella pneumophila, and Helicobacter pylori. Additionally, there was an association between HPC bacteria and the presence of Mycobacterium and Legionella but not the presence of Helicobacter. This research has shown that groundwater and municipal drinking water systems on the Crow Reservation can harbor potential bacterial pathogens.Item Community-based participatory research in Indian country: Improving health through water quality research and awareness(2010-07) Cummins, C.; Doyle, John T.; Kindness, L.; Lefthand, M. J.; Bear Don't Walk, U. J.; Bends, Ada L.; Broadaway, Susan C.; Camper, Anne K.; Fitch, R.; Ford, Tim E.; Hamner, Steve; Morrison, A. R.; Richards, Crystal L.; Young, Sara L.; Eggers, Margaret J.Water has always been held in high respect by the Apsaalooke (Crow) people of Montana. Tribal members questioned the health of the rivers and well water because of visible water quality deterioration and potential connections to illnesses in the community. Community members initiated collaboration among local organizations, the tribe, and academic partners, resulting in genuine community-based participatory research. The article shares what we have learned as tribal members and researchers about working together to examine surface and groundwater contaminants, assess routes of exposure, and use our data to bring about improved health of our people and our waters.Item Detection and source tracking of Escherichia coli, harboring intimin and Shiga toxin genes, isolated from the Little Bighorn River, Montana(2014-09) Hamner, Steve; Broadaway, Susan C.; Berg, Ethan; Stettner, Sean; Pyle, Barry H.; Big Man, N.; Old Elk, J.; Eggers, Margaret J.; Doyle, John T.; Kindness, L.; Good Luck, B.; Ford, Tim E.; Camper, Anne K.The Little Bighorn River flows through the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. In 2008, Escherichia coli concentrations as high as 7,179 MPN/100 ml were detected in the river at the Crow Agency Water Treatment Plant intake site. During 2008, 2009, and 2012, 10 different serotypes of E. coli, including O157:H7, harboring both intimin and Shiga toxin genes were isolated from a popular swim site of the Little Bighorn River in Crow Agency. As part of a microbial source tracking study, E. coli strains were isolated from river samples as well as from manure collected from a large cattle feeding operation in the upper Little Bighorn River watershed; 23% of 167 isolates of E. coli obtained from the manure tested positive for the intimin gene. Among these manure isolates, 19 were identified as O156:H8, matching the serotype of an isolate collected from a river sampling site close to the cattle feeding area.Item Bile Salts Affect Expression of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Genes for Virulence and IronAcquisition, and Promote Growth under Iron Limiting Conditions(2013-09) Hamner, Steve; McInnerney, Kathleen; Williamson, Kerry S.; Franklin, Michael J.; Ford, Tim E.Bile salts exhibit potent antibacterial properties, acting as detergents to disrupt cell membranes and as DNA-damaging agents. Although bacteria inhabiting the intestinal tract are able to resist bile’s antimicrobial effects, relatively little is known about how bile influences virulence of enteric pathogens. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an important pathogen of humans, capable of causing severe diarrhea and more serious sequelae. In this study, the transcriptome response of E. coli O157:H7 to bile was determined. Bile exposure induced significant changes in mRNA levels of genes related to virulence potential, including a reduction of mRNA for the 41 genes making up the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island. Bile treatment had an unusual effect on mRNA levels for the entire flagella-chemotaxis regulon, resulting in two- to four-fold increases in mRNA levels for genes associated with the flagella hook-basal body structure, but a two-fold decrease for “late” flagella genes associated with the flagella filament, stator motor, and chemotaxis. Bile salts also caused increased mRNA levels for seventeen genes associated with iron scavenging and metabolism, and counteracted the inhibitory effect of the iron chelating agent 2,2’-dipyridyl on growth of E. coli O157:H7. These findings suggest that E. coli O157:H7 may use bile as an environmental signal to adapt to changing conditions associated with the small intestine, including adaptation to an iron-scarce environment.