Open AccessViability and virulençe of Escherichia coli suspended by membrane chamber in semitropical ocean water
Author(s) -
Grimes D.J.,
Colwell R.R.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1986.tb01397.x
Subject(s) - seawater , escherichia coli , salinity , inoculation , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , artificial seawater , centrifugation , staining , botany , ecology , horticulture , biochemistry , genetics , gene
Abstract Escherichia coli H10407 was suspended in seawater (38.5‰ salinity) contained in membrane chambers (0.4‐μm polycarbonate membrane) incubated in situ at 25°C in Nixon's Harbor, South Bimini, Bahamas. Although colonies of E. coli could not be cultured after 13 h post chamber inoculation, the number of fluorescent‐antibody staining cells remained constant. Direct viable counts revealed that viable cells were present, even though the cell suspension was not culturable on the media tested. After exposure to seawater for 112 h, cells were concentrated by centrifugation and introduced into ligated rabbit ileal loops. E. coli H10407 proved viable for recovery from inoculated loops and was confirmed by detection of characteristic plasmid bands. Results indicate that enteric pathogens remain viable in seawater long after they cease to be cultivable on laboratory media.