Title: Survival of E. coli O157:H12 in creek sediments after inoculation and re-inoculation

Authors: Y.A. Pachepsky; A. Garzio-Hadzick; D.R. Shelton; Z.Z. Hadzick; R.L. Hill

Addresses: USDA-ARS, Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, 10300 Baltimore Ave., Bldg. 173, BARC-EAST, Beltsville MD, 20705, USA. ' School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA. ' USDA-ARS, Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, 10300 Baltimore Ave., Bldg. 173, BARC-EAST, Beltsville MD, 20705, USA. ' School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA. ' Environmental Science and Technology Department, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA

Abstract: This work tested the hypothesis that E. coli survival after streambed sediment inoculation does not differ significantly from survival in the same sediment after re-inoculation. The E. coli O157:H12 survived in two sediments with markedly different particle size distributions and organic matter contents in one-month-long experiments in flow-through chambers at 14°C and 23°C. The inactivation rates after re-inoculation were smaller than after inoculation; the differences were significant (P < 0.1) in two of four experiments. This study suggests that E. coli O157:H12 was able to adapt to the sediment environment so that its survival after re-inoculation improved.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; E. coli; sediment inoculation; survival; microcosm; inactivation rate; stream beds; particle size; organic matter; re-inoculation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2011.045481

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2011 Vol.46 No.3/4, pp.234 - 245

Received: 17 May 2010
Accepted: 19 Apr 2011
Published online: 30 Apr 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article