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MOLECULAR TRACKING FECAL CONTAMINATION IN SURFACE WATERS: 16S RDNA VERSUS METAGENOMICS APPROACHES
Citation:
LEE, Y. J., M. MOLINA, J. W. SANTO-DOMINGO, O. C. SHANKS, AND M. J. CYTERSKI. MOLECULAR TRACKING FECAL CONTAMINATION IN SURFACE WATERS: 16S RDNA VERSUS METAGENOMICS APPROACHES. Presented at American Society for Microbiology Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON, CANADA, May 21 - 25, 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of the proposed study is to evaluate and apply fast and reproducible DNA-based technology that can detect and track fecal contamination back to its source in complex environmental matrices, including recreational and drinking water resources.
Description:
Microbial source tracking methods need to be sensitive and exhibit temporal and geographic stability in order to provide meaningful data in field studies. The objective of this study was to use a combination of PCR-based methods to track cow fecal contamination in two watersheds. Water, sediment, and cow fecal samples were collected monthly for 12 months from two Georgia watersheds. Watershed 1 (WS1) was under direct cattle impact while watershed 2 (WS2) was only affected through runoff. Various physico-chemical parameters and enterococci counts were measured during sample collection. DNA was extracted from each sample type and challenged against several Bacteroides 16S rDNA-based and metagenome-based assays.