{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T14:24:58Z","timestamp":1788531898332,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788480000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100019370","name":"Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDB\/CVT\/00772\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/CVT\/00772\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100019370","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100019370","name":"Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["LA\/P\/0059\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["LA\/P\/0059\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100019370","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["UIDB\/CVT\/00772\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/CVT\/00772\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00snfqn58","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["LA\/P\/0059\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["LA\/P\/0059\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00snfqn58","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Postdoctoral Research Fellowship","award":["Reference ICETA 2026-01"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Reference ICETA 2026-01"]}]},{"name":"FCT\/MCTES through national funds","award":["UID\/50006\/2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UID\/50006\/2025"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Livestock faeces constitute an important environmental interface within the One Health framework, as bacteria shed by animals are directly exposed to external environmental conditions, where they may persist and subsequently disseminate across the human, animal, and environmental sectors. The ability of these microorganisms to tolerate environmental stresses is therefore critical for their persistence and ecological distribution. In this study, the responses of 5 Pseudomonas putida, 15 Pseudomonas fulva, and 12 Alcaligenes faecalis isolates recovered from livestock faeces to different environmental stress conditions were investigated. Bacterial growth was evaluated under different temperatures, increasing NaCl concentrations, and carbon starvation, while biofilm formation was assessed using the microtiter plate assay. Growth was markedly affected by all stress conditions, although substantial variability was observed among isolates of the same species. Despite reduced growth under the most adverse conditions, all three species remained capable of growing across a wide range of environmental stresses. A. faecalis exhibited greater salt tolerance and biofilm-forming capacity than Pseudomonas spp., with biofilm formation detected in almost all isolates of both species. Furthermore, no statistically significant correlations were detected among the evaluated stress tolerance traits. These findings demonstrate that livestock-associated P. putida, P. fulva, and A. faecalis possess physiological characteristics that promote persistence under diverse environmental conditions, highlighting the potential role of livestock faeces as environmental reservoirs of opportunistic bacteria within the One Health context.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15090935","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T13:50:44Z","timestamp":1788529844000},"page":"935","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ecological Stress Tolerance and Biofilm-Associated Persistence in Opportunistic Bacteria Isolated from Livestock Faeces"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Catarina","family":"Silva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology and Antibiotic Resistance Team (MicroART), Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2326-6226","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Telma","family":"de Sousa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology and Antibiotic Resistance Team (MicroART), Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Functional Genomics and Proteomics Unit, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4118-7062","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o","family":"Rodrigues","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Department, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6365-0735","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gilberto","family":"Igrejas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Functional Genomics and Proteomics Unit, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0925-689X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Poeta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology and Antibiotic Resistance Team (MicroART), Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Veterinary and Animal Research Center (CECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), University of Lisbon, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Health Organization, World Organisation for Animal Health, and United Nations Environment Programme (2022). 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