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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2004, p. 753-758, Vol. 42, No. 2
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.2.753-758.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Viable but Nonculturable Bacteria Are Present in Mouse and Human Urine Specimens{dagger}

Marc Anderson, Daphne Bollinger,{dagger} Ashley Hagler, Hadley Hartwell,§ Bryan Rivers, Kristie Ward, and Todd R. Steck*

Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223-0001

Received 14 July 2003/ Returned for modification 11 September 2003/ Accepted 11 November 2003

The presence of viable but nonculturable bacteria in human clean-catch and mouse bladder-isolated urine specimens was investigated. Viable but nonculturable bacteria are alive but do not give rise to visible growth under nonselective growth conditions. Urine specimens obtained from human female volunteers with or without an active urinary tract infection were found to contain, on average, significantly more viable than culturable forms of bacteria. Additional support for the presence of viable but nonculturable cells in urine specimens considered sterile was obtained from examination of urine specimens obtained directly from the bladder of healthy mice. Because the viability assay used to study the viable but nonculturable condition is by necessity growth independent, and hence indirect, the accuracy of this assay that scores cells with intact cell membranes as being viable was studied. Greater than 95% of Escherichia coli cells exposed to lethal doses of UV irradiation were found to lose their membrane integrity within a day, a time frame similar to that used to examine urine specimens. These data suggest that viable but nonculturable cells can occur within regions of the urinary tract previously considered sterile.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223-0001. Phone: (704) 687-4393. E-mail: trsteck{at}email.uncc.edu.

{dagger} The first six authors are listed alphabetically.

{ddagger} Present address: AlphaVax, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-0307.

§ Present address: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Department, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405.

Present address: Microbiology/ Hygiene Dept., 4238 Greiner Bio-One Vacuette N.A., Monroe, NC 28110.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2004, p. 753-758, Vol. 42, No. 2
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.2.753-758.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Rogers, G. B., Carroll, M. P., Bruce, K. D. (2009). Studying bacterial infections through culture-independent approaches. J Med Microbiol 58: 1401-1418 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Barer, M. R., Bogosian, G., Steck, T. R. (2004). The Viable but Nonculturable Concept, Bacteria in Urine Samples, and Occam's Razor. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 5434-5435 [Full Text]  


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