Quantification of viable bacteria in wastewater treatment plants by using propidium monoazide combined with quantitative PCR(PMA-qPCR)
Author(s): Dan Li, Tiezheng Tong, Siyu Zeng, Yiwen Lin, Shuxu Wu, Miao He, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University
Pages: 299-306
Year: 2014 Issue: 2
Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences
Keyword: propidium monoazide; antitative PCR; TPs E.coli; terococci;
Abstract: The detection of viable bacteria in wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs) is very important for public health, as WWTPs are a medium with a high potential for waterborne disease transmission. The aim of this study was to use propidium monoazide(PMA) combined with the quantitative polymerase chain reaction(PMA-qPCR) to selectively detect and quantify viable bacteria cells in full-scale WWTPs in China. PMA was added to the concentrated WWTP samples at a final concentration of 100 μmol/L and the samples were incubated in the dark for 5 min, and then lighted for 4 min prior to DNA extraction and qPCR with specific primers for Escherichia coli and Enterococci, respectively. The results showed that PMA treatment removed more than 99% of DNA from non-viable cells in all the WWTP samples, while matrices in sludge samples markedly reduced the effectiveness of PMA treatment. Compared to qPCR, PMA-qPCR results were similar and highly linearly correlated to those obtained by culture assay, indicating that DNA from non-viable cells present in WWTP samples can be eliminated by PMA treatment, and that PMA-qPCR is a reliable method for detection of viable bacteria in environmental samples. This study demonstrated that PMA-qPCR is a rapid and selective detection method for viable bacteria in WWTP samples, and that WWTPs have an obvious function in removing both viable and non-viable bacteria. The results proved that PMA-qPCR is a promising detection method that has a high potential for application as a complementary method to the standard culture-based method in the future.
Pages: 299-306
Year: 2014 Issue: 2
Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences
Keyword: propidium monoazide; antitative PCR; TPs E.coli; terococci;
Abstract: The detection of viable bacteria in wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs) is very important for public health, as WWTPs are a medium with a high potential for waterborne disease transmission. The aim of this study was to use propidium monoazide(PMA) combined with the quantitative polymerase chain reaction(PMA-qPCR) to selectively detect and quantify viable bacteria cells in full-scale WWTPs in China. PMA was added to the concentrated WWTP samples at a final concentration of 100 μmol/L and the samples were incubated in the dark for 5 min, and then lighted for 4 min prior to DNA extraction and qPCR with specific primers for Escherichia coli and Enterococci, respectively. The results showed that PMA treatment removed more than 99% of DNA from non-viable cells in all the WWTP samples, while matrices in sludge samples markedly reduced the effectiveness of PMA treatment. Compared to qPCR, PMA-qPCR results were similar and highly linearly correlated to those obtained by culture assay, indicating that DNA from non-viable cells present in WWTP samples can be eliminated by PMA treatment, and that PMA-qPCR is a reliable method for detection of viable bacteria in environmental samples. This study demonstrated that PMA-qPCR is a rapid and selective detection method for viable bacteria in WWTP samples, and that WWTPs have an obvious function in removing both viable and non-viable bacteria. The results proved that PMA-qPCR is a promising detection method that has a high potential for application as a complementary method to the standard culture-based method in the future.
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