title: Identification and quantitative detection of Legionella spp. in various aquatic environments by real-time PCR assay.
abstract: In this study, a SYBR green quantitative real-time PCR was developed to quantify and detect the Legionella spp. in various environmental water samples. The water samples were taken from watershed, water treatment plant, and thermal spring area in Taiwan. Legionella was detected in 13.6 % (24/176), and the detection rate for river water, raw drinking water, and thermal spring water was 10, 21.4, and 16.6 %, respectively. Using real-time PCR, concentration of Legionella spp. in detected samples ranged between 9.75 × 10(4) and 3.47 × 10(5) cells/L in river water, 6.92 × 10(4) and 4.29 × 10(5) cells/L in raw drinking water, and 5.71 × 10(4) and 2.12 × 10(6) cells/L for thermal spring water samples. The identified species included Legionella pneumophila (20.8 %), Legionella jordanis (4.2 %), Legionella nautarum (4.2 %), Legionella sp. (4.2 %), and uncultured Legionella sp. (66.6 %). The presence of L. pneumophila in aquatic environments suggested a potential public health threat that must be further examined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Po-Min
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Min-Che
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.forename: Bing-Mu
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Yi-Chou
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Cheng-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: She
authors.forename: Shu-Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Yu-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Wen-Chien
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007875:Legionella / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D045483:Rivers / Q000382:microbiology; D013624:Taiwan; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes
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