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An improved procedure for shipboard enumeration of faecal indicator bacteria in marine sediments from sewage sludge disposal areas
Author(s) -
West P. A.
Publication year - 1988
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.1365-2672.1988.tb01879.x
Subject(s) - sewage , enumeration , agar , indicator bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , bacteria , lactose , sonication , streptococcus , fecal coliform , food science , environmental science , environmental engineering , chemistry , chromatography , ecology , water quality , mathematics , combinatorics , genetics
An improved membrane filtration procedure for use on board ship to enumerate Escherichia coli and Group D faecal streptococci in marine sediments is described. Ultrasonication extraction combined with resuscitation of sublethally‐injured cells yielded significantly higher counts of E. coli than sediments shaken by hand. Counts of E. coli were also higher on mFC agar (without rosalic acid) after a period of resuscitation on tryptone‐soy agar supplemented with 0.1% yeast extract than on a 4% Teepol‐lactose medium. Ultrasonication of sediments made no significant difference to counts of Group D faecal streptococci on KF‐streptococcus agar. These improved isolation procedures allowed better discrimination of the area affected by sewage sludge at a disposal site off the northeast coast of England.