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Characterization of Escherichia Coli Isolates from Different Fecal Sources by Means of Classification Tree Analysis of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (Fame) Profiles

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Abstract

Microbial source tracking (MST) methods need to be rapid, inexpensive and accurate. Unfortunately, many MST methods provide a wealth of information that is difficult to interpret by the regulators who use this information to make decisions. This paper describes the use of classification tree analysis to interpret the results of a MST method based on fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles of Escherichia coli isolates, and to present results in a format readily interpretable by water quality managers. Raw sewage E. coli isolates and animal E. coli isolates from cow, dog, gull, and horse were isolated and their FAME profiles collected. Correct classification rates determined with leaveone-out cross-validation resulted in an overall low correct classification rate of 61%. A higher overall correct classification rate of 85% was obtained when the animal isolates were pooled together and compared to the raw sewage isolates. Bootstrap aggregation or adaptive resampling and combining of the FAME profile data increased correct classification rates substantially. Other MST methods may be better suited to differentiate between different fecal sources but classification tree analysis has enabled us to distinguish raw sewage from animal E. coli isolates, which previously had not been possible with other multivariate methods such as principal component analysis and cluster analysis.

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Author notes

  1. Steven Siciliano

    Present address: Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Ghent, Belgium

    Sylvie Seurinck, Bishaw Deboch & Willy Verstraete

  2. Department of Applied Mathematics, Biometrics and Process Control, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Ghent, Belgium

    Ellen Deschepper

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  1. Sylvie Seurinck
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  2. Ellen Deschepper
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  3. Bishaw Deboch
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  4. Willy Verstraete
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  5. Steven Siciliano
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Correspondence to Willy Verstraete.

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Seurinck, S., Deschepper, E., Deboch, B. et al. Characterization of Escherichia Coli Isolates from Different Fecal Sources by Means of Classification Tree Analysis of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (Fame) Profiles. Environ Monit Assess 114, 433–445 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-5031-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-5031-4

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