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Bacteriophages infecting Bacteroides as a marker for microbial source tracking.
Joan Jofre1, Anicet R Blanch1, Francisco Lucena1
1Department of Microbiology, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 643, Annex, Floor 0, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Water Research
|March 4, 2014
Summary
Bacteriophages targeting Bacteroides are promising microbial source tracking tools for identifying fecal pollution. These phages offer a cost-effective method for detecting contamination from various animal species, including humans.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Water quality monitoring
- Microbial source tracking
Background:
- Bacteriophages infecting Bacteroides are proposed as markers for tracing fecal pollution sources.
- These phages meet many criteria for effective fecal source indicators.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate bacteriophages infecting Bacteroides as a tool for microbial source tracking.
- To assess their suitability for detecting fecal contamination in water.
Main Methods:
- Utilized different host strains to detect bacteriophages in water contaminated with fecal wastes from various animal species.
- Focused on phages preferably found in human fecal wastes, examining their abundance, stability, and resistance.
- Employed standardized, cost-effective detection methods amenable to numerical analysis.
Main Results:
- Phages infecting Bacteroides show high abundance in human fecal samples and are stable over time.
- Their resistance to stressors is comparable to coliphages, a known pollution indicator.
- Abundance ratios of somatic coliphages and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron GA17 phages are consistent in recent and aged contamination.
Conclusions:
- Bacteriophages infecting Bacteroides are a valuable addition to the microbial source tracking "toolbox".
- Further research is needed to address uncertainties regarding geographical stability and to compare their efficacy with emerging methods like qPCR targeting Bacteroidetes.
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