This research is part of a multidisciplinary research program to develop a bioremediation protocol for a solid waste management (SWM) site in Northern California - a site which is heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. In this initial study, 30 bacterial strains were isolated and evaluated for their efficiencies to deplete crude oil. The 3 most efficient bacterial isolates for crude oil depletion were designated as S1BD1, OPKDS2, and OSDS1; they were identified as Serratia proteamaculans, Alcaligenes sp. and Rhodococcus erythropolis, respectively, based on partial 16S rRNA gene sequences. Determination of crude oil depletion efficiency by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed that Serratia proteamaculans S1BD1 was the most efficient (68.0 ± 1.78%), followed by Alcaligenes sp. OPKDS2 (63.7 ± 3.28%), and Rhodococcus erythropolis OSDS1 (54.9 ± 5.07%). S. proteamaculans S1BD1 was able to deplete a wide spectrum of carbon compounds within the individual components of crude oil. Alcaligenes sp. OPKDS2 was the most efficient at depleting BTEX (91.2 ± 1.90%), and R. erythropolis OSDS1 exhibited a substrate preference of n-alkanes. All three strains exhibited unusually high crude oil depletion efficiencies and tolerated a wide range of salinity and pH levels, which makes them excellent candidates for bioaugmentation of the SWM site.

Objective

To assess changes in the urinary microbiota after buccal urethroplasty.

Methods

At the University of California San Francisco, we enrolled 9 adult males with urethral strictures undergoing buccal urethroplasty where we collected urine and oral swabs intraoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to profile the microbiota.

Results

At baseline, the mouth contains twice the number of unique bacteria (alpha diversity) and the microbial community is significantly distinct compared to the urinary tract. Despite having a buccal mucosa in the urinary tract after urethroplasty, the number of unique bacteria in the urine remained stable. However, the bacterial community composition and structure significantly changed in the urinary tract with the enrichment of Corynebacterium genus at 3 months post-urethroplasty procedure.

Conclusion

In this pilot study, we showed that the alpha diversity in the urinary microbiota did not significantly change despite having a buccal tissue with the capacity to support high bacterial diversity in the urinary tract. To our surprise, the post-urethroplasty urinary microbiota was not a hybrid of baseline oral and urine microbiotas; the changes detected, such as an enrichment of the Corynebacterium genus, were more nuanced yet could profoundly impact surgical outcomes like graft changes and stricture recurrence. Our study not only established the feasibility but also outlined a blueprint for conducting a large-scale study to assess alterations in the urinary microbiome in relation to surgical outcomes.