title: Microbial source tracking using host specific FAME profiles of fecal coliforms.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the host-specific differences in fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles of fecal coliforms (FC). A known-source library was constructed with 314 FC isolates cultured from 6 possible sources of fecal pollution; 99 isolates from sewage; 29 from bovine; 29 from poultry; 50 from swine; 46 from waterfowl; and 61 from deer. It was found that the hydroxy FAMEs 12:0 2 OH, 12:03 OH, and 14:02 OH were exclusively associated with isolates of human origin. On the other hand, 3 saturated FAMEs, 10:0, 15:0, and 18:0 were found only in isolates from non-human sources, 15:0 being associated with livestock samples only. In addition to the presence of these signature FAMEs, the mean relative masses of 16:1 omega7c and 16:1 ISO/14:03 OH were significantly different between the isolates of human and non-human origins. A linear discriminant function differentiated FC isolates of human origin from those of livestock and wildlife origin at 99% accuracy. These results strongly suggest that the FAME profiles of FC show statistically significant host specificity and may have the potential to be used as a phenotypic microbial source tracking tool.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19010, USA. metin.duran@villanova.edu
authors.forename: Metin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duran
authors.forename: Berat Z
authors.initials: BZ
authors.lastname: Haznedaroğlu
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Zitomer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001717:Birds; D003670:Deer; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004952:Esters / Q000032:analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D005227:Fatty Acids; D014873:Water Pollutants