A rapid reverse transcription-PCR assay for F super(+) RNA coliphages to trace fecal pollution in Table Rock Lake on the Arkansas-Missouri border

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) 2006-12, Vol.40 (20), p.3719-3724
• Main Authors: Dryden, S K, Ramaswami, B, Yuan, Z, Giammar, DE, Angenent, L T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0043-1354
• DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2006.09.003

Source determination of fecal contamination is imperative to efficiently reduce the fecal material load to environmental waters. This study developed primer pairs targeting three F super(+) RNA bacteriophages and a simple filtration sampling method to enumerate and identify coliphages in environmental waters. Water samples were collected seasonally for one year from the watershed of Table Rock Lake on the Arkansas-Missouri border in areas predisposed to fecal contamination. Collected samples were analyzed quantitatively with most probable number and plaque assays and qualitatively with reverse transcription-PCR. We demonstrated the usefulness of F super(+) RNA coliphages as an indicator of fecal contamination, but were unable to distinguish between human and non-human sources. F super(+) coliphage numbers in Table Rock Lake showed seasonal variation with the highest level of coliphage presence during the January sampling event.