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Detection of multiple waterborne pathogens using microsequencing arrays
Author(s) -
Brinkman N.E.,
Francisco R.,
Nichols T.L.,
Robinson D.,
Schaefer F.W.,
Schaudies R.P.,
Villegas E.N.
Publication year - 2013
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/jam.12073
Subject(s) - cryptosporidium parvum , cryptosporidium , enterococcus faecium , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , francisella tularensis , bacillus anthracis , microarray , bacteria , dna microarray , antibiotics , virulence , feces , genetics , gene , gene expression
Aims A microarray was developed to simultaneously detect C ryptosporidium parvum , C ryptosporidium hominis , E nterococcus faecium , B acillus anthracis and F rancisella tularensis in water. Methods and Results A DNA microarray was designed to contain probes that specifically detected C . parvum , C . hominis , E nt. faecium , B . anthracis and F . tularensis . The microarray was then evaluated with samples containing target and nontarget DNA from near‐neighbour micro‐organisms, and tap water spiked with multiple organisms. Results demonstrated that the microarray consistently detected E nt. faecium , B. anthracis , F. tularensis and C. parvum when present in samples. Cryptosporidium hominis was only consistently detected through the use of shared probes between C. hominis and C. parvum . Conclusions This study successfully developed and tested a microarray‐based assay that can specifically detect faecal indicator bacteria and human pathogens in tap water. Significance and Impact of the Study The use of indicator organisms has become a practical solution for monitoring for water quality. However, they do not always correlate well with the presence of many microbial pathogens, thus necessitating direct monitoring for most pathogens. This microarray can be used to simultaneously detect multiple organisms in a single sample. More importantly, it can provide occurrence information that may be used in assessing potential exposure risks to waterborne pathogens.