Abstract
Five human-specific markers were detected in 59–74% of 27 human fecal-source samples collected in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Similarly, potential human-specific markers, crAssphage, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), and tobacco mosaic virus were detected in 96–100% of samples, with crAssphage showing the maximum concentration of 12.03 log copies/L. However, these markers were detected in 100% (3/3) of pig fecal-source samples, suggesting their applicability as general fecal pollution markers. Microbial source tracking analysis demonstrated that the rivers are contaminated by human and pig fecal sources. CrAssphage showed higher marker concentrations in river water samples than PMMoV, suggesting the preference of crAssphage to PMMoV as a marker of fecal pollution.
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Acknowledgements
This study was financially supported by the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency of Japan through the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (Grant No. 5-1603), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (Grant No. JP17H03332), and the River Foundation (Grant No. 26-1263-011). The authors acknowledge Mr. Rui Osada, Ms. Ruriko Ito, Ms. Kotomi Furukawa, Ms. Sayaka Sugiyama, Mr. Masaaki Ito, Mr. Kosei Koga, Mr. Toshiki Amemiya, Mr. Ryo Koshiishi, and Mr. Kazuki Yamamoto (University of Yamanashi, Japan) for their support in water sampling and/or laboratory analysis.
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Malla, B., Makise, K., Nakaya, K. et al. Evaluation of Human- and Animal-Specific Viral Markers and Application of CrAssphage, Pepper Mild Mottle Virus, and Tobacco Mosaic Virus as Potential Fecal Pollution Markers to River Water in Japan. Food Environ Virol 11, 446–452 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12560-019-09398-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12560-019-09398-w