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Identification of source of faecal pollution of Tirumanimuttar River, Tamilnadu, India using microbial source tracking

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Abstract

Efficient management of deteriorating water bodies can be achieved by determining the sources of faecal pollution. Resourceful techniques for discrimination of the sources of Escherichia coli in surface water have recently been developed, including the use of river water to facilitate faecal indicator surveillance, identification of sources of faecal contamination and employing relevant management practices to maintain water quality. This study was conducted to employ microbial source tracking (MST) techniques for the determination of the sources of faecal pollution based on a water quality investigation of the physico-chemical characteristics and coliform count point of the Tirumanimuttar River. To accomplish this, an MST library-based antibiotic resistance analysis, serotyping and the genomic tool rep-PCR techniques were applied, and the obtained results were analysed statistically. Among 135 and 70 E. coli isolates present in the library and water samples collected from the river and nearby well water sources, respectively, most showed intrinsic, high or moderate resistance to antibiotics. Isolates from human and pig faecal sources were 92% homologous with the samples from the river, whereas isolates from sewage and dairy cattle showed 89% and 80% homology, respectively. These findings indicated that the Tirumanimuttar River is subjected to stress from anthropogenic activities and runoff contaminated with agricultural and human faecal contamination. The sources of faecal pollution identified in this study may facilitate the monitoring and management of the Tirumanimuttar River.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank Dr. Mani and Dr. Yashwant Kumar, Central Research Institute, Kasouli, India, for their help with serotyping.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Kasi Murugan & Saleh Al-Sohaibani

  2. Post Graduate and Research Department of Microbiology, K.S.R. College of Arts and Science, Tiruchengodu, 637209, Tamilnadu, India

    Perumal Prabhakaran

  3. Center for Research and Development, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, 46, Tamilnadu, India

    Kuppusamy Sekar

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  1. Kasi Murugan
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  2. Perumal Prabhakaran
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  3. Saleh Al-Sohaibani
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Correspondence to Kasi Murugan.

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Murugan, K., Prabhakaran, P., Al-Sohaibani, S. et al. Identification of source of faecal pollution of Tirumanimuttar River, Tamilnadu, India using microbial source tracking. Environ Monit Assess 184, 6001–6012 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2398-7

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