Performance of two quantitative PCR methods for microbial source tracking of human sewage and implications for microbial risk assessment in recreational waters.

ABSTRACT: Before new, rapid quantitative PCR (qPCR) methods for assessment of recreational water quality and microbial source tracking (MST) can be useful in a regulatory context, an understanding of the ability of the method to detect a DNA target (marker) when the contaminant source has been diluted in environmental waters is needed. This study determined the limits of detection and quantification of the human-associated Bacteroides sp. (HF183) and human polyomavirus (HPyV) qPCR methods for sewage diluted in buffer and in five ambient, Florida water types (estuarine, marine, tannic, lake, and river). HF183 was quantifiable in sewage diluted up to 10(-6) in 500-ml ambient-water samples, but HPyVs were not quantifiable in dilutions of >10(-4). Specificity, which was assessed using fecal composites f

SUBMITTER: Staley C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3457114 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature