Characterization of Enterococcus faecalis-infecting phages (enterophages) as markers of human fecal pollution in recreational waters

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) Vol. 44; no. 16; pp. 4716 - 4725
• Main Authors: Santiago-Rodríguez, Tasha M., Dávila, Catalina, González, Joel, Bonilla, Natasha, Marcos, Patricia, Urdaneta, Miguel, Cadete, Manuela, Monteiro, Sílvia, Santos, Ricardo, Domingo, Jorge Santo, Toranzos, Gary A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2010
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteriophages - genetics; Bacteriophages - isolation & purification; Bacteriophages - physiology; Biomarkers - analysis; DNA, Viral - isolation & purification; Enterococci; Enterococcus; Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecalis - genetics; Enterococcus faecalis - isolation & purification; Enterococcus faecalis - virology; Enterophages; Environmental Monitoring; Epidemiological Monitoring; Fecal pollution; Feces - microbiology; Geography; Human; Humans; Indicators; Markers; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Phage; Pollution abatement; Recreation; Sand; Temperature; Time Factors; Virus Diseases - epidemiology; Virus Diseases - mortality; Viruses; Water Microbiology; Water pollution; Watersheds; Fecal pollution; Enterococci; Indicators; Enterophages

Enterophages are a novel group of phages that specifically infect Enterococcus faecalis and have been recently isolated from environmental water samples. Although enterophages have not been conclusively linked to human fecal pollution, we are currently characterizing enterophages to propose them as...