A glimpse of Escherichia coli O157:H7 survival in soils from eastern China.
Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) is an important food-borne pathogen, which continues to be a major public health concern worldwide. It is known that E. coli O157:H7 survive in soil environment might result in the contamination of fresh produce or water source. To investigate how the soils and their properties affect E. coli O157:H7 survival, we studied E. coli O157:H7 survival dynamics in 14 soils collected in eastern China from the warm-temperate zone to subtropical zone. Results showed that E. coli O157:H7 survival as a function of time can be well described by the Weibull model. The calculated td values (survival time to reach the detection limit, 100 colony forming units per gram oven-dried weight of soil) for the test soils were between 1.4 and 25.8 days. A significantly longer survival time (td) was observed in neutral or alkaline soils from north-eastern China (the warm-temperate zone) than that in acidic soils from south-eastern China (the subtropical zone). Distinct E. coli O157:H7 survival dynamics was related to soil properties. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the td values were significantly enhanced by soil microbial biomass carbon and total nitrogen, but were significantly reduced by amorphous Al2O3 and relative abundance of Chloroflexi. It should pay more attention to E. coli O157:H7 long survival in soils and its potential environmental contamination risk.
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Subtropical Soil and Plant Nutrition, College of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; USDA-ARS, U.S. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, CA 92507, USA; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Haizhen
H
Wang
USDA-ARS, U.S. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, CA 92507, USA.
A Mark
AM
Ibekwe
USDA-ARS, U.S. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, CA 92507, USA; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Jincai
J
Ma
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Subtropical Soil and Plant Nutrition, College of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Laosheng
L
Wu
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Subtropical Soil and Plant Nutrition, College of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Jun
J
Lou
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Zhigang
Z
Wu
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Renyi
R
Liu
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Subtropical Soil and Plant Nutrition, College of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: jmxu@zju.edu.cn.
Jianming
J
Xu
USDA-ARS, U.S. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, CA 92507, USA. Electronic address: Scott.Yates@ars.usda.gov.
Scott R
SR
Yates
D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology
D012987:Soil
Amorphous Al(2)O(3); Chloroflexi; Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7); Survival; pH