Occurrence of Nocardia in near shore marine environments and its public and environmental implications

Luke Wright; Mohammad Katouli; İpek Kurtböke

doi:10.1071/MA25039

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Occurrence of Nocardia in near shore marine environments and its public and environmental implications

Luke Wright ^A , Mohammad Katouli ^A and İpek Kurtböke ^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A University of the Sunshine Coast, School of Science, Technology and Engineering, Maroochydore DC, Qld 4558, Australia.

Dr Luke Wright graduated from the University of the Sunshine Coast, where he earned a BSc, Honours, and a PhD under the supervisions of Assoc. Prof. İpek Kurtböke and Assoc. Prof. Mohammad Katouli investigating the occurrence of Nocardia species in near shore marine environments of the Sunshine Coast Region. His study revealed the presence of novel Nocardia species in the foaming waters, and he described two new species in a collaborative investigation with the DSMZ in Germany. Dr Wright’s study increased awareness in the region and contributed toward international studies related to mapping of nocardiae in four corners of the world.

Assoc. Prof. Mohammad Katouli is a member of the Centre for Bioinnovation (CBI) and the School of Science, Technology and Engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He has been working for many years on pathogenic mechanisms of bacteria isolated from clinical and environmental sources. His current focus is on how probiotic strains can mitigate the pathogenicity of translocating (TEC) and adherent and invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) strains in intestinal epithelial and modulates host cell gene expression. Since 1998, he has been a member of the ASM and the chair of the Queensland branch committee between 2014 and 2016.

Assoc. Prof. İpek Kurtböke has been working in the field of biodiscovery and has been an active member of the international actinomycete research community since 1982. She currently conducts research and teaches in the field of applied microbiology and biotechnology at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. She has also been an active member of the World Federation of Culture Collections (WFCC) and currently is the President of the Federation. She was also an Editorial Board member of Microbiology Australia for 20 years (2004–2024).

^* Correspondence to: ikurtbok@usc.edu.au

Microbiology Australia https://doi.org/10.1071/MA25039

Submitted: 7 July 2025 Accepted: 30 July 2025 Published: 18 August 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Since 2003, large foaming events resembling ‘chocolate mousse-like foam’ have been reported along several popular beaches on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, following storms and turbulent sea water events. Earlier studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) first highlighted that these foaming events contained an abundance of filamentous actinomycete species, specifically from the genus Nocardia. Species of this genus are frequently detected in the foams of sewage treatment plants during the activated sludge process. Nocardiae can form an extensive mycelial network and trap fats, oil and grease, which exacerbates foam formation. In addition, Nocardia species are known to be pathogenic and cause various diseases including nocardiosis in human and animal hosts. This review focusses on the occurrence, diversity and virulence properties of Nocardia species with examples of isolations of Nocardiae from foaming coastal marine waters of the region.

Biographies

Dr Luke Wright graduated from the University of the Sunshine Coast, where he earned a BSc, Honours, and a PhD under the supervisions of Assoc. Prof. İpek Kurtböke and Assoc. Prof. Mohammad Katouli investigating the occurrence of Nocardia species in near shore marine environments of the Sunshine Coast Region. His study revealed the presence of novel Nocardia species in the foaming waters, and he described two new species in a collaborative investigation with the DSMZ in Germany. Dr Wright’s study increased awareness in the region and contributed toward international studies related to mapping of nocardiae in four corners of the world.

Assoc. Prof. Mohammad Katouli is a member of the Centre for Bioinnovation (CBI) and the School of Science, Technology and Engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He has been working for many years on pathogenic mechanisms of bacteria isolated from clinical and environmental sources. His current focus is on how probiotic strains can mitigate the pathogenicity of translocating (TEC) and adherent and invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) strains in intestinal epithelial and modulates host cell gene expression. Since 1998, he has been a member of the ASM and the chair of the Queensland branch committee between 2014 and 2016.

Assoc. Prof. İpek Kurtböke has been working in the field of biodiscovery and has been an active member of the international actinomycete research community since 1982. She currently conducts research and teaches in the field of applied microbiology and biotechnology at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. She has also been an active member of the World Federation of Culture Collections (WFCC) and currently is the President of the Federation. She was also an Editorial Board member of Microbiology Australia for 20 years (2004–2024).

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