الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The current study explored the applicability of using some biochemical and molecular methods for monitoring some microbial contaminants in drinking water in addition to physiochemical parameters. 120 Water samples were collected monthly (Jan. 2017 – Dec. 2017) from the surface water (input) and drinking water (output and distribution networks) of two drinking water treatment plants at Damietta County, Egypt. The distribution of the studied bacteria based on their detection by TaqMan qPCR as a molecular method compared with MF technique declared that the higher positive samples were detected by TaqMan qPCR. The bacterial count was totally absent in all output samples. TaqMan qPCR assay (based on sequence detection of uidA, invA, and ompW) revealed 97.96%, 99.14% and 98.3% specificity for E. coli, S. enterica and non-virulent V. cholerae, respectively, compared with 100% specificity for all strains when membrane filtration (MF) cultures were applied. TaqMan qPCR exhibited 100% sensitivity for all strains, while it was 91.67%, 80% and 50% using MF cultures for E. coli, S. enterica and non-virulent V. cholerae, respectively. In conclusion, TaqMan qPCR sensitivity makes it a useful tool for urgent fast monitoring of water contamination especially in network samples that contain low bacterial count. from our results, biochemical methods are important in the detection and isolation of different types of bacteria and it is preferable to be included in daily routine tests of water. |