Incidence of the Enterococcal Surface Protein (esp) Gene in Human and Animal Fecal Sources

The occurrence of the enterococcal surface protein (esp) gene in the opportunistic pathogens Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium is well-documented in clinical research. Recently, the esp gene has been proposed as a marker of human pollution in environmental waters; however, information on its rela...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2007-09, Vol.41 (17), p.6090-6095
Main Authors: Whitman, Richard L, Przybyla-Kelly, Katarzyna, Shively, Dawn A, Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis methods
Animals
Applied sciences
Bacteria
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Enterococcus faecalis
Enterococcus faecalis - genetics
Enterococcus faecalis - pathogenicity
Environment and pollution
Environmental Monitoring
Exact sciences and technology
Feces
Feces - microbiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Genes
Genetic Variation
Humans
Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects
Membrane Proteins - genetics
Miscellaneous
Natural water pollution
Pollution
Pollution, environment geology
Proteins
Risk Assessment
Sewage - microbiology
Sewage disposal
Water treatment and pollution
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Summary:The occurrence of the enterococcal surface protein (esp) gene in the opportunistic pathogens Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium is well-documented in clinical research. Recently, the esp gene has been proposed as a marker of human pollution in environmental waters; however, information on its relative incidence in various human and animal fecal sources is limited. We have determined the occurrence of the esp gene in enterococci from human (n = 64) and animal (n = 233) fecal samples by polymerase chain reaction using two primer sets:  one presumably specific for E. faecium (esp fm) and the other for both E. faecalis and E. faecium (esp fs/fm). We believe that this research is the first to explore the use of esp fs/fm for the detection of human waste in natural environmental settings. The incidence in human sources was 93.1% esp fm and 100% esp fs/fm in raw sewage influent; 30% for both esp fm and esp fs/fm in septic waste; and 0% esp fm and 80% esp fs/fm in active pit toilets. The overall occurrence of the gene in animal feces was 7.7% (esp fs/fm) and 4.7% (esp fm); animal types with positive results included dogs (9/43, all esp fm), gulls (10/34, esp fs/fm; 2/34, esp fm), mice (3/22, all esp fs/fm), and songbirds (5/55, all esp fs/fm). The esp gene was not detected in cat (0/34), deer (0/4), goose (0/18), or raccoon (0/23) feces. The inconsistent occurrence, especially in septic and pit toilet sewage, suggests a low statistical power of discrimination between animal and human sources, which means a large number of replicates should be collected. Both esp fm and esp fs/fm were common in raw sewage, but neither one efficiently differentiated between animal and other human sources.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es070817t