ATP luminescence assay as a bioburden estimator of biomass accumulation in caves

Authors

Janez Mulec, Karst Research Institute, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and ArtsFollow
Andreea Oarga-Mulec, University of Nova GoricaFollow

Highlights

• Applicability of an ATP assay for estimation of bioburden in caves.
• A high variability of microbial biomass within a single cave system.
• Cave infrastructures containing heavy metals reduce the viability of microbiota.
• Underground habitats preserve and concentrate microbial biomass.

Abstract

A commercially available adenosine triphosphate (ATP) detection system (Hygiena, USA), supported by cultivable microbial indicators, was used to estimate bioburden in different habitats in and outside show caves: air, water and solid surfaces. A strong positive correlation between ATP concentration expressed as Relative Light Units (RLU) and Colony-Forming-Units (CFU) was observed for swab samples from cave surfaces. In terms of ATP units, surfaces in a single cave system (Postojna Cave) varied considerably (240-1,258,800 RLU/ 20 cm²) and commonly exceeded the bioburden level of analogues on the surface (0-114,390 RLU/ 20 cm²). Cave sub-habitats were colonized by physiologically distinct microbial communities in terms of their nutrient demands, temperature requirements and r/K growth strategy. The highest ATP biomass indicator (1,258,800 RLU/ 20 cm²) for the speleothem that had been touched but accompanied with comparable concentration of CFU (~10⁶ CFU/ 20 cm²) for other cave sub-habitats, can be related to the presence of deposited human epithelium skin cells. Show cave infrastructures containing heavy metals, e.g. copper used in safety fences, reduce the viability of microbiota. Mass cave visitation and the presence of allochthonous organic matter result in high levels of airborne and total biomass. Once such material becomes airborne, the location of its settling depends upon natural and human-induced air movements. Underground habitats play an important role in the preservation and concentration of microbial biomass using air and water as transport mechanisms.

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.45.3.1975

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Recommended Citation

Mulec, Janez and Andreea Oarga-Mulec. 2016. ATP luminescence assay as a bioburden estimator of biomass accumulation in caves. International Journal of Speleology, 45: 207-218.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol45/iss3/2