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Water potential changes in faecal matter and Escherichia coli survival
Author(s) -
Garfield L.M.,
Walker M.J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2008.03827.x
Subject(s) - feces , evaporation , zoology , potential evaporation , osmotic pressure , environmental chemistry , chemistry , biology , ecology , botany , physics , thermodynamics
Aims: This study investigated the influence of a range of evaporation rates (2·0, 5·3 and 7·4 mm day −1 ) on degradation of E. coli (ATCC Strain 25922) inoculated in canine faeces. Methods and Results: Experiments were carried out in an environmental chamber and a first order exponential decay function (Chick’s Law) was used to estimate degradation rates. We estimated die‐off coefficients using linear regression. Die‐off rates were −0·07, −0·22 and −0·23 h −1 , respectively, for evaporation rates of 2·0, 5·3 and 7·4 mm day −1 ( P = 0·000+, for each model). Nearly complete die‐off was found within 15–60 h (7·4–2·0 mm day −1 evaporation rates), which corresponds with a water potential of approximately −22·4 MPa. Conclusions: This study indicates that canine faeces need not be desiccated to achieve complete loss of indicator organisms. Water potential, which is a combination of osmotic and matric potential, is a key stress that increases as evaporation removes water from the faecal matrix and increases concentration of the remaining faecal solution. Evaporation may remove populations of indicator organisms in faeces relatively quickly, even though faeces are not completely dehydrated. Significance and Impact of the Study: This research may be used as the foundation for studies more closely resembling real‐world evaporation conditions including diurnal fluctuations, rewetting and freezing.