Detailed Research Information

Detailed project information for
Study Plan Number 01099

Branch : Fish Health Branch

Study Plan Number : 01099

Study Title : Investigation of Point and Non-Point Bacterial Contamination in West Virginia and Virginia Surface and Ground Waters by Rapid Molecular Methods

Starting Date : 08/01/2003

Completion Date : 09/30/2006

Principal Investigator(s) : Schill, Bane (William)

Primary PI : Schill, Bane (William)

Telephone Number : (304) 724-4438

Email Address : bane_schill@usgs.gov

SIS Number :

Primary Program Element : Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

Second Program Element :

Status : Active

Abstract : BACKGROUND
Many surface and ground waters in the eastern region of the United States are contaminated with fecal pollution resulting in adverse affects including degradation of water quality, increased health risks, and changes in aquatic ecosystem dynamics. Population explosions of microbes responsible for eutrophication often adversely affect aquatic species directly by the release of toxins or through disease. More subtly, microbial messenger molecules have been shown to interact with animal cytokine systems resulting in suppression of immunity. On a broader scale, the global coastal oceans are affected by the pollution input from rivers and streams. The Chesapeake Bay and Baltic Sea are now bacterially dominated ecosystems, and this state has now extended to the open ocean off the mouth of the Mississippi and to the Adriatic Sea.

This study seeks to solve some of the problems outlined above regarding bacterial source tracking by using alternative microbial indicators that are known to be relatively host-specific. When sites are identified as being impacted by fecal pollution, the effects of this pollution on human health, animal health, and the environment will be studied in regard to:

1. the animal host(s) producing the pollution,

2. the presence of bacteria pathogenic to humans and other mammals,

3. the presence of horizontally transferable genetic elements known to influence pathogenicity,

4. the transfer and amplification of genetic elements involved in antibiotic resistance and virulence in aquatic environments and,

5. the modulation of environmental bacteria involved in nitrogen cycling and organic transformation.
OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of this study is to develop an integrated approach to reliably identify the source of fecal contamination. An additional objective is to characterize the contamination’s risk to human and animal health, and to determine the impact of this contamination on the environment and water quality.
HYPOTHESIS TO BE TESTED
An integrated approach incorporating, integron frequency, analysis of bacterial genetic diversity, analysis of virulence resistance determinants, and analysis of fecal anaerobes including Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides can reliably identify the source of fecal contamination in surface and ground waters and measure the significance of the contamination as it relates to the environment and water quality.

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U.S. Department of the Interior || U.S. Geological Survey
11700 Leetown Road, Kearneysville, WV 25430, USA
URL: http://www.lsc.usgs.gov
Maintainer: lsc_webmaster@usgs.gov
Last Modified: October 21, 2002 dwn
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Branch :	Fish Health Branch
Study Plan Number :	01099
Study Title :	Investigation of Point and Non-Point Bacterial Contamination in West Virginia and Virginia Surface and Ground Waters by Rapid Molecular Methods
Starting Date :	08/01/2003
Completion Date :	09/30/2006
Principal Investigator(s) :	Schill, Bane (William)
Primary PI :	Schill, Bane (William)
Telephone Number :	(304) 724-4438
Email Address :	bane_schill@usgs.gov
SIS Number :
Primary Program Element :	Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Second Program Element :
Status :	Active
Abstract :	BACKGROUND Many surface and ground waters in the eastern region of the United States are contaminated with fecal pollution resulting in adverse affects including degradation of water quality, increased health risks, and changes in aquatic ecosystem dynamics. Population explosions of microbes responsible for eutrophication often adversely affect aquatic species directly by the release of toxins or through disease. More subtly, microbial messenger molecules have been shown to interact with animal cytokine systems resulting in suppression of immunity. On a broader scale, the global coastal oceans are affected by the pollution input from rivers and streams. The Chesapeake Bay and Baltic Sea are now bacterially dominated ecosystems, and this state has now extended to the open ocean off the mouth of the Mississippi and to the Adriatic Sea. This study seeks to solve some of the problems outlined above regarding bacterial source tracking by using alternative microbial indicators that are known to be relatively host-specific. When sites are identified as being impacted by fecal pollution, the effects of this pollution on human health, animal health, and the environment will be studied in regard to: 1. the animal host(s) producing the pollution, 2. the presence of bacteria pathogenic to humans and other mammals, 3. the presence of horizontally transferable genetic elements known to influence pathogenicity, 4. the transfer and amplification of genetic elements involved in antibiotic resistance and virulence in aquatic environments and, 5. the modulation of environmental bacteria involved in nitrogen cycling and organic transformation. OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this study is to develop an integrated approach to reliably identify the source of fecal contamination. An additional objective is to characterize the contamination’s risk to human and animal health, and to determine the impact of this contamination on the environment and water quality. HYPOTHESIS TO BE TESTED An integrated approach incorporating, integron frequency, analysis of bacterial genetic diversity, analysis of virulence resistance determinants, and analysis of fecal anaerobes including Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides can reliably identify the source of fecal contamination in surface and ground waters and measure the significance of the contamination as it relates to the environment and water quality.
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U.S. Department of the Interior \|\| U.S. Geological Survey 11700 Leetown Road, Kearneysville, WV 25430, USA URL: http://www.lsc.usgs.gov Maintainer: lsc_webmaster@usgs.gov Last Modified: October 21, 2002 dwn Privacy Policy and Disclaimers \|\| FOIA \|\| Accessibility