Potential of Enterococcus faecalis as a Human Fecal Indicator for Microbial Source Tracking

2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1286-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea L. Wheeler ◽  
Peter G. Hartel ◽  
Dominique G. Godfrey ◽  
Jennifer L. Hill ◽  
William I. Segars
Keyword(s):  
Enterococcus Faecalis ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Fecal Indicator

scholarly journals Microbial Source-Tracking Reveals Origins of Fecal Contamination in a Recovering Watershed

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyatt Green ◽  
Daniel Weller ◽  
Stephanie Johnson ◽  
Edward Michalenko
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Fecal Contamination ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Chemical Parameters ◽  
Fecal Indicator ◽  
Combined Sewer ◽  
Rain Events

Fecal contamination of waterbodies due to poorly managed human and animal waste is a pervasive problem that can be particularly costly to address, especially if mitigation strategies are ineffective at sufficiently reducing the level of contamination. Identifying the most worrisome sources of contamination is particularly difficult in periurban streams with multiple land uses and requires the distinction of municipal, agricultural, domestic pet, and natural (i.e., wildlife) wastes. Microbial source-tracking (MST) methods that target host-specific members of the bacterial order Bacteroidales and others have been used worldwide to identify the origins of fecal contamination. We conducted a dry-weather study of Onondaga Creek, NY, where reducing fecal contamination has been approached mainly by mitigating combined sewer overflow events (CSOs). Over three sampling dates, we measured in-stream concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria; MST markers targeting human, ruminant, and canine sources; and various physical–chemical parameters to identify contaminants not attributable to CSOs or stormwater runoff. We observed that despite significant ruminant inputs upstream, these contaminants eventually decayed and/or were diluted out and that high levels of urban bacterial contamination are most likely due to failing infrastructure and/or illicit discharges independent of rain events. Similar dynamics may control other streams that transition from agricultural to urban areas with failing infrastructure.

scholarly journals Microbial source tracking of fecal contamination in Laguna Lake, Philippines using the library-dependent method, rep-PCR

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurice Beatrice Raphaelle O. dela Peña ◽  
Kevin L. Labrador ◽  
Mae Ashley G. Nacario ◽  
Nicole R. Bolo ◽  
Windell L. Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Fecal Contamination ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Source Attribution ◽  
Monitoring Methods ◽  
K Nearest Neighbors ◽  
Fecal Indicator ◽  
Laguna Lake

Abstract Laguna Lake is an economically important resource in the Philippines, with reports of declining water quality due to fecal pollution. Currently, monitoring methods rely on counting fecal indicator bacteria, which does not supply information on potential sources of contamination. In this study, we predicted sources of Escherichia coli in lake stations and tributaries by establishing a fecal source library composed of rep-PCR DNA fingerprints of human, cattle, swine, poultry, and sewage samples (n = 1,408). We also evaluated three statistical methods for predicting fecal contamination sources in surface waters. Random forest (RF) outperformed k-nearest neighbors and discriminant analysis of principal components in terms of average rates of correct classification in two- (84.85%), three- (82.45%), and five-way (74.77%) categorical splits. Overall, RF exhibited the most balanced prediction, which is crucial for disproportionate libraries. Source tracking of environmental isolates (n = 332) revealed the dominance of sewage (47.59%) followed by human sources (29.22%), poultry (12.65%), swine (7.23%), and cattle (3.31%) using RF. This study demonstrates the promising utility of a library-dependent method in augmenting current monitoring systems for source attribution of fecal contamination in Laguna Lake. This is also the first known report of microbial source tracking using rep-PCR conducted in surface waters of the Laguna Lake watershed.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Enterococcus-infecting phages as indices of fecal pollution

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasha M. Santiago-Rodriguez ◽  
Patricia Marcos ◽  
Silvia Monteiro ◽  
Miguel Urdaneta ◽  
Ricardo Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enterococcus Faecalis ◽  
Enteric Viruses ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Domestic Sewage ◽  
Fecal Pollution ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Human Origin ◽  
Human Enteric Viruses ◽  
Type Strains ◽  
Animal Feces

No microbial source tracking tool satisfies all the characteristics of an ideal indicator of human fecal pollution. For this reason, the potential of Enterococcus faecalis phages (enterophages) as markers of this type of contamination was tested by using eight Enterococcus type strains as the possible hosts. The prevalence of enterophages in animal feces and domestic sewage were determined, as were the inactivation rates in raw sewage at 4 °C and surface and tap waters at 22 °C. Enterophages were exclusively detected in raw sewage (up to 66.0 plaque forming units (PFU)/100 mL), suggesting a strictly human origin; and exhibited inactivation rates of approximately 0.002 to 0.05, 0.3 to 0.5 and 0.4 to 1.4 log day−1 in raw sewage and surface and tap waters, respectively, similar to those of previous reports on human enteric viruses under similar conditions. Interestingly, phages infecting other Enterococcus type strains were detected in both animal feces and domestic sewage in concentrations of up to 335.8 PFU/g and 96.0 PFU/100 mL, and certain phage isolates infected several of the strains tested. This clearly indicates the possible promiscuous nature of some Enterococcus phages and thus opens up the opportunity to further characterize these as indices of specific fecal sources.

scholarly journals Microbial Source Tracking Approach to Investigate Fecal Waste at the Strawberry Creek Watershed and Clam Beach, California, USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 6901
Author(s):  
Jeremy A. Corrigan ◽  
Steven R. Butkus ◽  
Michael E. Ferris ◽  
Jill C. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
California Department ◽  
Fecal Indicator ◽  
State Regulations ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Primary Contact ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
Fecal Waste ◽  
Sample Maximum

Clam Beach is located in Northern California, USA, and is listed as an impaired waterway by the federal government. The scope of this study was to investigate this beach and surrounding watershed to determine, if possible, the source of the impairment by conducting an 11-h beach study and 8-week watershed study. We used traditional fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and microbial source tracking (MST) methods to help identify source(s) of the FIB. Our study was focused on four possible contributors: human, ruminant, canine, and bird. A total of 169 samples were collected, analyzed, and compared to the California Department of Health single sample maximum (SSM) objective. In the beach study, 29 (44%) samples exceeded at least one SSM objective, which would have resulted in a resample per state regulations for recreational primary contact use. MST methods showed that the most abundant marker detected was bird, in 65% of the samples, but varied by sample location, which is likely due to a natural population of nearshore birds regularly observed along Clam Beach. The watershed study highlighted the potential influence from ruminants throughout the region, while humans did not appear to be a significant contributor. Health risk to humans appears to be low.

scholarly journals Biotic Interactions and Sunlight Affect Persistence of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Microbial Source Tracking Genetic Markers in the Upper Mississippi River

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (13) ◽  
pp. 3952-3961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asja Korajkic ◽  
Brian R. McMinn ◽  
Orin C. Shanks ◽  
Mano Sivaganesan ◽  
G. Shay Fout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Markers ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Fecal Indicator Bacteria ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Indicator Bacteria ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Viral Lysis ◽  
Fecal Indicator

ABSTRACTThe sanitary quality of recreational waters that may be impacted by sewage is assessed by enumerating fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) (Escherichia coliand enterococci); these organisms are found in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and many other animals, and hence their presence provides no information about the pollution source. Microbial source tracking (MST) methods can discriminate between different pollution sources, providing critical information to water quality managers, but relatively little is known about factors influencing the decay of FIB and MST genetic markers following release into aquatic environments. Anin situmesocosm was deployed at a temperate recreational beach in the Mississippi River to evaluate the effects of ambient sunlight and biotic interactions (predation, competition, and viral lysis) on the decay of culture-based FIB, as well as molecularly based FIB (Entero1a and GenBac3) and human-associated MST genetic markers (HF183 and HumM2) measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). In general, culturable FIB decayed the fastest, while molecularly based FIB and human-associated genetic markers decayed more slowly. There was a strong correlation between the decay of molecularly based FIB and that of human-associated genetic markers (r2, 0.96 to 0.98;P< 0.0001) but not between culturable FIB and any qPCR measurement. Overall, exposure to ambient sunlight may be an important factor in the early-stage decay dynamics but generally was not after continued exposure (i.e., after 120 h), when biotic interactions tended to be the only/major influential determinant of persistence.

Decay of sewage-sourced microbial source tracking markers and fecal indicator bacteria in marine waters

2017 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 106-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mia Catharine Mattioli ◽  
Lauren M. Sassoubre ◽  
Todd L. Russell ◽  
Alexandria B. Boehm
Keyword(s):  
Fecal Indicator Bacteria ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Indicator Bacteria ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Marine Waters ◽  
Fecal Indicator
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