TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between submerged aquatic vegetation and elevated levels of Escherichia coli and potential bacterial pathogens in freshwater lakes
AU - Mathai, Prince P.
AU - Dunn, Hannah M.
AU - Magnone, Paolo
AU - Zhang, Qian
AU - Ishii, Satoshi
AU - Chun, Chan Lan
AU - Sadowsky, Michael J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/3/20
Y1 - 2019/3/20
N2 - Fecal indicator bacteria such as Escherichia coli have been reported to persist and potentially grow in a wide variety of secondary habitats, such as water, beach sand, sediment, periphyton and some algae. However, little is known about their association with submerged macrophytes and how this may influence water quality. In this study, we examined the association of E. coli and potential bacterial pathogens with Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM), an invasive, submerged, macrophyte that has spread across thousands of lakes in North America. EWM samples were collected from 10 lakes in Minnesota, once a month, for six consecutive months from early summer to late fall. Microbiota associated with EWM were examined using membrane filtration, quantitative PCR targeting various bacterial pathogens and host-associated marker genes, and high-throughput DNA sequencing. E. coli densities were generally elevated on EWM samples, and peaked during warmer months. Moreover, our results showed that EWM could serve as a temporal source for transmission of microbiota to the water column. Several potential pathogenic groups, including Aeromonas, Enterobacteriaceae, and Clostridium were present in significantly greater relative abundance on EWM than in water, and waterfowl was predicted to be the major source of fecal contamination. These findings have water quality implications with respect to the potential for submerged macrophytes to harbor and disperse E. coli and other bacterial pathogens in a large number of waterbodies.
AB - Fecal indicator bacteria such as Escherichia coli have been reported to persist and potentially grow in a wide variety of secondary habitats, such as water, beach sand, sediment, periphyton and some algae. However, little is known about their association with submerged macrophytes and how this may influence water quality. In this study, we examined the association of E. coli and potential bacterial pathogens with Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM), an invasive, submerged, macrophyte that has spread across thousands of lakes in North America. EWM samples were collected from 10 lakes in Minnesota, once a month, for six consecutive months from early summer to late fall. Microbiota associated with EWM were examined using membrane filtration, quantitative PCR targeting various bacterial pathogens and host-associated marker genes, and high-throughput DNA sequencing. E. coli densities were generally elevated on EWM samples, and peaked during warmer months. Moreover, our results showed that EWM could serve as a temporal source for transmission of microbiota to the water column. Several potential pathogenic groups, including Aeromonas, Enterobacteriaceae, and Clostridium were present in significantly greater relative abundance on EWM than in water, and waterfowl was predicted to be the major source of fecal contamination. These findings have water quality implications with respect to the potential for submerged macrophytes to harbor and disperse E. coli and other bacterial pathogens in a large number of waterbodies.
KW - DNA sequence
KW - Escherichia coli
KW - Eurasian watermilfoil
KW - Fecal indicator bacteria
KW - Pathogens
KW - Submerged macrophytes
KW - Waterfowl
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85058050381&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85058050381&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.484
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.484
M3 - Article
C2 - 30543981
AN - SCOPUS:85058050381
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 657
SP - 319
EP - 324
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
ER -