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Environmental Persistence and Naturalization of Fecal Indicator Organisms

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Book cover Microbial Source Tracking: Methods, Applications, and Case Studies

Abstract

Fecal indicator bacteria, including total and fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, and enterococci have been used to indicate the presence of fecal contamination in water used for drinking, shellfishing, and recreation. The assumptions behind the concept of using fecal indicator bacteria (total coliforms, fecal coliforms, E. coli, and enterococci) are that these organisms are normal inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals and are incapable of long-term survival or replication outside of their hosts. These assumptions must be valid if FIB levels in water are used to ensure the microbial safety in water and to identify “fecally contaminated” areas, which is essential to microbial source tracking (MST) studies. However, after utilization of total coliforms in the 1920s and fecal coliforms in the 1980s, studies showed that these groups of indicator bacteria failed to meet these assumptions because they include strains that are naturally occurring in nonfecal sources (i.e., soil, vegetation, and water) and are capable of persisting and regrowing in the environment. In the 1980s, E. coli and enterococci were recommended for use as FIB because they were believed to be more specific to fecal waste. Recent studies have shown that these bacteria also failed to meet the criteria for FIB.

The continuing practice of implementing fecal indicator organisms without understanding their persistence and survivability in the environment has hindered the ability to determine their significance in water and to accurately assess human health risks. This chapter discusses the natural occurrence of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, E. coli, and enterococci and explains key survival mechanisms, such as biofilm development and transitioning to the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state, which can allow them to persist and regrow in various environmental habitats. Understanding how and where fecal indicators can survive in the environment could be useful to MST studies to account for fecal indicator ­bacteria from natural sources. The information gained from these studies could be applied to studies evaluating MST methods employing new, alternative indicators such as Bacteroides spp.

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  1. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, 3535 Harbor Blvd., Suite 110, Costa Mesa, California, 92626, USA

    Donna Ferguson

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  2. Caterina Signoretto
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Correspondence to Donna Ferguson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Prince Hall 401, Blacksburg, 24061, Virgin Islands, USA

    Charles Hagedorn

  2. Fac. Biologia, Depto. Microbiologia, Universitat Barcelona, Avenida Diagonal 645, Barcelona, 08028, Spain

    Anicet R. Blanch

  3. Dept. Biology, Div. Integrative Biology (IB), University of South Florida, E. Fowler Ave. 4202, Tampa, 33620, Florida, USA

    Valerie J. Harwood

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Ferguson, D., Signoretto, C. (2011). Environmental Persistence and Naturalization of Fecal Indicator Organisms. In: Hagedorn, C., Blanch, A., Harwood, V. (eds) Microbial Source Tracking: Methods, Applications, and Case Studies. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9386-1_17

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