You are here:
POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) TECHNOLOGY IN VISUAL BEACH
Citation:
Molina, M AND W E. Frick. POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) TECHNOLOGY IN VISUAL BEACH. Presented at National Beaches Conference, San Diego, CA, October 13-15, 2004.
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:
In 2000, the US Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act under which the EPA has the mandate to manage all significant public beaches by 2008. As a result, EPA, USGS and NOAA are developing the Visual Beach program which consists of software equipped with descriptive, diagnostic, and prognostic tools and models to help health officials and the public understand, address, and ultimately prevent beach closures. One goal of the program is to provide end users, public health officials, environmental monitoring organizations, and other interested individuals with the information to understand, utilize, and benefit from new Real Time (RT)-PCR technology. This methodology allows identification and quantification of specific fecal indicator bacteria, such as Enterococcus species and Escherichia coli, in two to three hours compared to 24 to 48 hours with conventional membrane filtration methods. In Visual Beach, the software component dedicated to RT-PCR input provides tools for compiling data and for accessing the latest advances in the methodology including quality control parameters, with the aim to achieve technological standardization across users. The PCR component also offers links designed to acquire information for conducting water monitoring programs, as well as guidance on the application of the results into other compartments of the program to obtain predictive information. The ultimate goal will be to use PCR results to reset initial and boundary conditions for the empirical and numerical bacterial decay and transport models planned for Visual Beach.