Integrating culture-based and molecular methods provides an improved assessment of microbial quality in a coastal lagoon.
Environ Pollut
; 334: 122140, 2023 Oct 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37414126
ABSTRACT
Faecal pollution in aquatic environments is a worldwide public health concern, yet the reliability and comprehensiveness of the methods used to assess faecal contamination are still debated. We compared three approaches, namely a culture-based method to enumerate Faecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB), a FIB-targeting qPCR assay, and High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) to detect faeces- and sewage-associated taxa in water and sediment samples of an impacted model lagoon and its adjacent sea across one year. Despite at different levels, all approaches agreed in showing a higher contamination in the lagoon than in the sea, and higher in sediments than water. FIB significantly correlated when considering separately sediment and water, and when using both cultivation and qPCR. Similarly, FIB correlated between cultivation and qPCR, but qPCR provided consistently higher estimates of FIB. Faeces-associated bacteria positively correlated with cultivated FIB in both compartments, whereas sewage-associated bacteria did only in water. Considering their benefits and limitations, we conclude that, in our study site, improved quali-quantitative information on contamination is provided when at least two approaches are combined (e.g., cultivation and qPCR or HTS data). Our results provide insights to move beyond the use of FIB to improve faecal pollution management in aquatic environments and to incorporate HTS analysis into routine monitoring.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Aguas del Alcantarillado
/
Monitoreo del Ambiente
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Pollut
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia