Exploring the potential environmental functions of viable but non-culturable bacteria

A conventional plate count is the most commonly employed method to estimate the number of living bacteria in environmental samples. In fact, judging the level of viable culture by plate count is limited, because it is often several orders of magnitude less than the number of living bacteria actually present. Most of the bacteria are in “viable but non-culturable” (VBNC) state, whose cells are intact and alive and can resuscitate when surrounding conditions are more favorable. The most exciting recent development in resuscitating VBNC bacteria is a bacterial cytokine, namely, the resuscitation-promoting factor (Rpf), secreted by Micrococcus luteus, which promotes the resuscitation and growth of high G+C Gram-positive organisms, including some species of the genus Mycobacterium. However, most of studies deal with VBNC bacteria only from the point of view of medicine and epidemiology. It is therefore of great significance to research whether these VBNC state bacteria also possess some useful environmental capabilities, such as degradation, flocculation, etc. Further studies are needed to elucidate the possible environmental role of the VBNC bacteria, rather than only considering their role as potential pathogens from the point view of epidemiology and public health. We have studied the resuscitation of these VBNC bacteria in polluted environments by adding culture supernatant containing Rpf from M. luteus, and it was found that, as a huge microbial resource, VBNC bacteria could provide important answers to dealing with existing problems of environmental pollution. This mini-review will provide new insight for considering the potentially environmental functions of VBNC bacteria.