Methods for Tracking Microbial Faecal Pollution in Water

In a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the microbiologist Andreas Farnleitner is looking at new methods for analysing faecal pollution in water.

Using DNA analytics, the scientist aims to develop comprehensive and simple methods to determine the extent and origin of faecal pollution.

In 2015, the United Nations formulated 17 objectives for sustainable development. One of these objectives is to provide all people with access to clean water.

At present, the water available to at least 1.5 billion people is polluted with faeces. This may produce serious illnesses such as cholera – some 500,000 people fall ill because of consuming polluted water each year. The goal is to solve this problem by 2030, but it is often difficult to put the right measures in place, because the source of the pollution cannot be detected using currently available tests.

In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a group led by Andreas Farnleitner from the Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien) and the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Krems intends to change that by research into developing more accurate and faster analytical methods for water.

Identifying faecal bacteria by their DNA

In several projects funded by the FWF, Farnleitner conducts research into new detection methods for faecal microbial contamination in water resources. He concentrates his efforts on populations of intestinal bacteria that could not be detected in the past, so-called "abundant host-associated bacteria". "Actually, 'Escherichia coli' bacteria only play a supporting role in the intestines.

Other bacteria are found in much higher amounts, higher by several orders of magnitude even, but, unlike 'Escherichia coli', they cannot be cultivated by means of standard processes." It is possible, however, to detect those bacteria directly by means of their DNA. "In principle, it is a bit like using DNA analysis in criminal investigations. We analyse the DNA of faecal bacteria that are relevant for our purposes."

Finding out just which bacteria are relevant for such an analysis is at the centre of one ongoing FWF project. In order to find the answer, Farnleitner analyses the faeces of a wide variety of domestic and wild animals, including birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, as well as soil specimens, in order to draw up a database of the microorganisms found there.

"We have built the faecal database which by now includes excretions from more than 450 different animals, in order to get a first impression of the diversity and the differences of bacterial populations between the various faecal contamination sources."

In the sampling, which was conducted worldwide, the researchers were assisted by veterinarians in a team led by Chris Walzer and Gabrielle Stalder from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.

Read more: Phys.org

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Taxonomy

• Wastewater Disposal
• Feces
• Environmental Health
• Treatment
• Filtration
• Wastewater Treatment
• Filtration
• Water Management
• Public Health