Long‐term survival and plasmid maintenance of Escherichia coli in marine microcosms

The survival pattern and plasmid maintenance of Escherichia coli was examined in an artificial seawater microcosm. It was found that the three strains of E. coli (EK3C, H10407 and 34309) included in the study were able to maintain a portion of cells in the culturable phase for at least 3 years in ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEMS microbiology ecology 1993-05, Vol.12 (1), p.9-14
Main Authors: Byrd, Jeffrey J., Colwell, Rita R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Escherichia coli
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Long‐term survival
Marine
Microbial ecology
Plasmid maintenance
Survival of Escherichia coli
Various environments (extraatmospheric space, air, water)
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Summary:The survival pattern and plasmid maintenance of Escherichia coli was examined in an artificial seawater microcosm. It was found that the three strains of E. coli (EK3C, H10407 and 34309) included in the study were able to maintain a portion of cells in the culturable phase for at least 3 years in artificial seawater. Along with retaining culturability, that portion of the cell population also maintained their indigenous plasmids over the 3‐year period. It is concluded that cells of E. coli maintaining culturability in seawater are selectively adapted to the salinity of seawater, remaining in a culturable state. The results of the study are significant in that it has been assumed by many public health authorities that E. coli cannot survive, without nutrient addition, in seawater for long periods of time, i.e., years of exposure to seawater.
ISSN:0168-6496
1574-6941
DOI:10.1111/j.1574-6941.1993.tb00011.x