Detection and quantification of Pseudomonas species, including P. aeruginosa, in cooling tower water using a genus-specific Illumina-based approach

Pseudomonas species are frequent inhabitants of freshwater environments and often colonisers of water supply networks via bioadhesion and biofilm formation. P. aeruginosa is the most characterized species of the genus and the most commonly associated to human disease, causing a wide variety of infections that have causality links with their presence in freshwater systems. Though several other Pseudomonas species are of ecological and health importance, little knowledge regarding environmental Pseudomonas species still exists. In the present study, an Illumina-based approach using Pseudomonas genus-specific primers and targeting the 16S rRNA gene was validated and applied to a set of freshwater samples, collected from a cooling tower system during two years.