title: A rapid reverse transcription-PCR assay for F+ RNA coliphages to trace fecal pollution in Table Rock Lake on the Arkansas-Missouri border.
abstract: 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+ 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+ RNA coliphages as an indicator of fecal contamination, but were unable to distinguish between human and non-human sources. F+ coliphage numbers in Table Rock Lake showed seasonal variation with the highest level of coliphage presence during the January sampling event.
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Dryden
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ramaswami
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Giammar
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Angenent
mesh_terms: D001131:Arkansas; D003090:Coliphages / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005618:Fresh Water; D006801:Humans; D008923:Missouri; D012317:RNA Phages / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral