Biomaterial Database

Ecology of coliphages in southern California coastal waters. 2010

V C Reyes, and S C Jiang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.

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.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011891	Rain	Water particles that fall from the ATMOSPHERE.	Rains
D002140	California	State bounded on the east by Nevada and Arizona, on the south by Mexico and the Pacific Ocean on the south and west, and on the north by Oregon.
D003090	Coliphages	Viruses whose host is Escherichia coli.	Escherichia coli Phages,Coliphage,Escherichia coli Phage,Phage, Escherichia coli,Phages, Escherichia coli
D004926	Escherichia coli	A species of gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria (GRAM-NEGATIVE FACULTATIVELY ANAEROBIC RODS) commonly found in the lower part of the intestine of warm-blooded animals. It is usually nonpathogenic, but some strains are known to produce DIARRHEA and pyogenic infections. Pathogenic strains (virotypes) are classified by their specific pathogenic mechanisms such as toxins (ENTEROTOXIGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI), etc.	Alkalescens-Dispar Group,Bacillus coli,Bacterium coli,Bacterium coli commune,Diffusely Adherent Escherichia coli,E coli,EAggEC,Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli,Enterococcus coli,Diffusely Adherent E. coli,Enteroaggregative E. coli,Enteroinvasive E. coli,Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli
D005243	Feces	Excrement from the INTESTINES, containing unabsorbed solids, waste products, secretions, and BACTERIA of the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.
D005618	Fresh Water	Water containing no significant amounts of salts, such as water from RIVERS and LAKES.	Freshwater,Fresh Waters,Freshwaters,Water, Fresh,Waters, Fresh
D012621	Seasons	Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)	Seasonal Variation,Season,Seasonal Variations,Variation, Seasonal,Variations, Seasonal
D012722	Sewage	Refuse liquid or waste matter carried off by sewers.	Sludge,Sludge Flocs
D013696	Temperature	The property of objects that determines the direction of heat flow when they are placed in direct thermal contact. The temperature is the energy of microscopic motions (vibrational and translational) of the particles of atoms.	Temperatures
D014871	Water Microbiology	The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in water. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.	Microbiology, Water