High Diversity and Abundance of Legionella spp. in a Pristine River and Impact of Seasonal and Anthropogenic Effects

The diversity and dynamics of Legionella species along a French river watershed subject to different thermal and wastewater discharges during an annual cycle were assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and by a fingerprint technique, single-strand conformation polymorphism. A high diversity of Legionella spp. was observed at all the sampling sites, and the dominant Legionella clusters identified were most closely related to uncultured bacteria. The monthly monitoring revealed that Legionella sp. diversity changes were linked only to season at the wastewater site whereas there was some evidence for anthropogenic effects on Legionella sp. diversity downstream of the thermal bath. Quantification of Legionella pneumophila and Legionella spp. by culture and quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed. Whereas only L. pneumophila was quantified on culture media, the qPCR assay revealed that Legionella spp. were ubiquitous and abundant from the pristine source of the river to the downstream sampling sites. These results suggest that Legionella spp. may be present at significant concentrations in many more freshwater environments than previously thought, highlighting the need for further ecological studies and culturing efforts.