Biofilm microbiome in extracorporeal membrane oxygenator catheters

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 16;16(9):e0257449. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257449. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Despite the formation of biofilms on catheters for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), some patients do not show bacteremia. To elucidate the specific linkage between biofilms and bacteremia in patients with ECMO, an improved understanding of the microbial community within catheter biofilms is necessary. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the biofilm microbiome of ECMO catheters from adults with (n = 6) and without (n = 15) bacteremia. The microbiomes of the catheter biofilms were evaluated by profiling the V3 and V4 regions of bacterial 16s rRNA genes using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. In total, 2,548,172 reads, with an average of 121,341 reads per sample, were generated. Although alpha diversity was slightly higher in the non-bacteremic group, the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, there was no difference in beta diversity between the two groups. We found 367 different genera, of which 8 were present in all samples regardless of group; Limnohabitans, Flavobacterium, Delftia, Massilia, Bacillus, Candidatus, Xiphinematobacter, and CL0-1 showed an abundance of more than 1% in the sample. In particular, Arthrobacter, SMB53, Neisseria, Ortrobactrum, Candidatus Rhabdochlamydia, Deefgae, Dyella, Paracoccus, and Pedobacter were highly abundant in the bacteremic group. Network analysis indicated that the microbiome of the bacteremic group was more complex than that of the non-bacteremic group. Flavobacterium and CL0.1, which were abundant in the bacteremic group, were considered important genera because they connected different subnetworks. Biofilm characteristics in ECMO catheters varied according to the presence or absence of bacteremia. There were no significant differences in diversity between the two groups, but there were significant differences in the community composition of the biofilms. The biofilm-associated community was dynamic, with the bacteremic group showing very complex network connections within the microbiome.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arthrobacter / genetics
  • Arthrobacter / isolation & purification
  • Arthrobacter / physiology
  • Bacteremia / microbiology*
  • Bacteremia / pathology
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification
  • Biofilms
  • Catheter-Related Infections / microbiology*
  • Catheter-Related Infections / pathology
  • Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation / instrumentation*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Microbiota*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neisseria / genetics
  • Neisseria / isolation & purification
  • Neisseria / physiology
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / analysis
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / metabolism
  • Retrospective Studies

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Research institute for Convergence of biomedical science and technology (30-2019-014), Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital. The funder provided support in the form of salaries for authors [HJY] but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘Author contributions’ section.