J Bacteriol Virol.  2012 Dec;42(4):313-320. 10.4167/jbv.2012.42.4.313.

Characterization of Bacterial Community Contaminating Floor of A Hot and Dry Sauna

• Lee JY
• Park DH

• KMID: 2168666
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4167/jbv.2012.42.4.313

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine profile of bacteria contaminated in a dry sauna. Bacteria sampled from the floor of the dry sauna (75~80degrees C) were separated and identified by using a thermal gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) technique, and were cultivated using a defined medium at 50degrees C. Bacteria grown in the defined medium were identified based on 16S-rDNA sequence homology. The band number of DNA separated by TGGE was 15, indicating the species diversity of bacteria contaminating the dry sauna. Seven species of bacteria were successfully cultured on agar plate medium at 50degrees C, which represented a combination of thermophilic and thermoduric bacteria contaminating the dry sauna. The highest limit temperature for growth of the bacterial isolates was generally 50degrees C when cultivated in a defined medium, but was raised to 60degrees C when cultivated in a complex medium. Consequently, the bacteria grown at 50~60degrees C are thermoduric or thermophilic, but others may not be.

Keyword

Sauna; Thermophile; Thermoduric; Spore-forming bacteria; TGGE

MeSH Terms

Agar
Bacteria
DNA
Electrophoresis
Floors and Floorcoverings
Sequence Homology
Steam Bath
Agar
DNA

Figure

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  Figure 1 Location of sampling area in floor of dry sauna (A) and sampling method of bacteria contaminated in floor of dry sauna (B).

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  Figure 2 Thermal gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) profiles of bacterial communities isolated from floor in 4 corners of sauna. The left figure is a real picture and the right figure is a black-and white picture that was duplicated from the real picture to mark band number.

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