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The Escherichia coli Content of Mytilus edulis from Analysis of Whole Tissue or Digestive Tract
Author(s) -
ALJEBOURI M. M.,
TROLLOPE D. R.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1981.tb00917.x
Subject(s) - mytilus , mussel , digestive tract , biology , escherichia coli , microbiology and biotechnology , bivalvia , veterinary medicine , zoology , mollusca , ecology , biochemistry , medicine , gene
The dissected digestive tract of edible mussels from two sites was examined for Escherichia coli and the counts compared with those from the total tissue of parallel mussel samples. The method using 4 x 1 ml pour plates was preferred to the 1 x 4 ml pour plate or to the 2 x 0.2 ml spread plates. Counts from the digestive tract were up to sixfold higher than parallel counts using total tissue. Digestive tract inoculum also produced amplified Esch. coli detection when lightly polluted mussels were examined by the semi‐quantitative percentage‐clean technique. It was concluded that dissection of the bacteriologically rich digestive tract significantly increases the sensitivity of Esch. coli detection and has application in environmental assay procedures using mussels or other filter‐feeding molluscs. Significant differences in the frequency of Esch. coli biotypes from the two mussel locations could be related to small differences in the pollution regimes at these two sites.