Detection and quantification of viable but non-culturable from water samples using flow cytometry-cell sorting and quantitative PCR.

is a waterborne pathogen and, as the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, a significant public health concern. Exposure to environmental stresses, and disinfection treatments, promotes the formation of resistant and potentially infectious viable but non-culturable (VBNC) . The management of engineered water systems to prevent Legionnaires' disease is hindered by the presence of VBNC that cannot be detected using the standard culture (ISO11731:2017-05) and quantitative polymerase reaction (ISO/TS12869:2019) methods. This study describes a novel method to quantify VBNC from environmental water samples using a "viability based flow cytometry-cell sorting and qPCR" (VFC + qPCR) assay. This protocol was then validated by quantifying the VBNC genomic load from hospital water samples. The VBNC cells were unable to be cultured on Buffered Charcoal Yeast Extract (BCYE) agar; however, their viability was confirmed through their ATP activity and ability to infect amoeba hosts. Subsequently, an assessment of the ISO11731:2017-05 pre-treatment procedure demonstrated that acid or heat treatment cause underestimation of alive population. Our results showed that these pre-treatment procedures induce culturable cells to enter a VBNC state. This may explain the observed insensitivity and lack of reproducibility often observed with the culture method. This study represents the first time that flow cytometry-cell sorting in conjunction with a qPCR assay has been used as a rapid and direct method to quantify VBNC from environmental sources. This will significantly improve future research evaluating risk management approaches for the control of Legionnaires' disease.