Ecology of coliphages in southern California coastal waters.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to investigate the ecology of coliphages, an important microbial pollution indicator. Specifically, our experiments address (i) the ability of environmental Escherichia coli (E. coli) to serve as hosts for coliphage replication, and (ii) the temporal and spatial distribution of coliphages in coastal waters.


RESULTS
Water samples from three locations in California's Newport Bay watershed were tested for the presence of coliphages every 2 weeks for an entire year. A total of nine E. coli strains isolated from various sources served as hosts for coliphage detection. Coliphage occurrence was significantly different between freshwater, estuarine and coastal locations and correlated with water temperature, salinity and rainfall in the watershed. The coliphages isolated on the environmental hosts had a broad host-range relative to the coliphages isolated on an E. coli strain from sewage and a US EPA recommended strain for coliphage detection.


CONCLUSIONS
Coliphage occurrence was related to the temperature, rainfall and salinity within the bay. The adaptation to a broad host-range may enable the proliferation of coliphages in the aquatic environment.


CONCLUSIONS
Understanding the seasonal variation of phages is useful for establishing a background level of coliphage presence in coastal waters. The broad host-range of coliphages isolated on the environmental E. coli host calls for investigation of coliphage replication in the aquatic environment.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
V C
VC
Reyes
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
S C
SC
Jiang
D002140:California; D003090:Coliphages / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017753:Ecosystem; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000821:virology; D011891:Rain; D054712:Salinity; D012621:Seasons; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D013696:Temperature; D014871:Water Microbiology
D012722:Sewage