The Characterization and Detection of Human Associated Pathogens Within Aquatic Sediments in Florida
Thalassogenic diseases, infectious diseases caused by wastewater pollution of marine environments, have been plaguing the world for generations. Every millimeter of raw wastewater may carry millions of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Water monitoring techniques generally rely on the sole detection of fecal indicator bacteria, while overlooking the significance of microbial data, especially via aquatic sediment. It is known that aquatic sediment can provide the ideal environment for pathogenic microorganisms to survive in. Using next-generation sequencing methods, amplifying the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, this study aimed to achieve the following objectives: 1) characterize the microbiome of the sediment in the Himmarshee Canal located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 2) comparatively analyze any microbial differences found in the compositions between two years, and 3) examine any potentially pathogenic microorganisms found. Additionally, the presence of a segment of the 16S rRNA gene that is a microbial marker for human fecal matter (HF183), will be investigated. This study is the first of its kind in testing the presence of HF183 in aquatic sediment in South Florida and hopes to improve water quality surveillance.