Impact of calcium carbonate and temperature on survival of Escherichia coli in soil.

Spreading of waste organic matter on agricultural lands is considered to enhance soil microbial activities and physical properties and improves soil nutrient status. However, organic wastes have also been shown to be a source of microbial contaminants including pathogens. Related risks are governed by pathogens' survival and transport particularities. We evaluated the significance of high levels of CaCO3, common in arid and semi-arid soils, on survival of Escherichia coli NAR at different temperatures. Amendments of 0, 5, 10, 15 or 25 g CaCO3 were mixed into variable soil amounts to obtain 100 g soil-CaCO3 mixtures. Both sterile and non-sterile soil mixtures were tested. Suspensions of a nalidixic acid-resistant E. coli strain (E. coli NAR) were added to the mixtures at a rate of 10(6) cell g(-1) soil. Mixtures were incubated at 4, 15, or 37 °C at the soil's field capacity for water (i.e. 0.13 g g(-1)). Each treatment was tested in triplicate. Persistence of culturable E. coli NAR was verified throughout the incubation period. The recovery rates of culturable E. coli NAR were significantly correlated to CaCO3 concentrations (P < 0.05). Incubation temperature (T) was the most significant factor (P < 0.01). In non-sterile mixtures the largest decline in survival rates of E. coli NAR was measured for treatments with larger CaCO3 content (i.e. 15 and 25%). Interaction of temperature and CaCO3 was significant for E. coli NAR die-off. Sterilization of soil caused non-uniform fluctuations in the effect of treatments. The maximum calculated decay rate for E. coli NAR was 0.83 d(-1) for the 15 g CaCO3 non-sterile mixture incubated at 37 °C while the minimum was 0.09 d(-1) for the control unamended sterile soil incubated at 15 °C. A combination of high temperature, large CaCO3 concentrations and a non-sterile, biologically active soil created the least favorable conditions for E. coli survival.

Significance of physical weathering of two-texturally different soils for the saturated transport of Escherichia coli and bromide.

This study was carried out to investigate the transport of Escherichia coli NAR and bromide (Br) through repacked (R) and weathered (W) soil columns. A suspension containing E. coli NAR and Br were leached and the effluent from the weathered soil columns had greater contaminant concentrations than that from the repacked soil columns. The time to the concentration peak of (C(max)) E. coli NAR and Br increased in the order CL-W < SL-W < SL-R < CL-R. The breakthrough sequence suggests the formation of a heterogeneous soil pore network induced by weathering and the importance of accelerated flow in the weathered columns. The dual-permeability model in HYDRUS-1D software was used to simulate the E. coli NAR and Br transport parameters by inverse modeling. Parameters of the attachment-detachment model were calculated using the dual-permeability model parameters fitted to the BTCs of E. coli NAR. A greater attachment coefficient associated with soil repacking and the finer textured clayey soil demonstrated the importance of adsorbent site and smaller pore spacing in these treatments. Smaller attachment and adsorption isotherm coefficients in weathered soil columns suggest the need for further research to validate this as a predictive model for the risks for vadose zone contaminant transport.

A PCR-DGGE approach to evaluate the impact of wastewater source on the antibiotic resistance diversity in treated wastewater effluent.

Increased incidence of antibiotics in human-affected environments is raising concerns about increase in acquired antibiotic resistance by environmental bacteria. Wastewater collection and treatment systems are likely significant anthropogenic sinks and vectors for antibiotics and associated antibiotic resistance. Typical municipal treatment plants collect wastewaters of various sources, including well-established antibiotic resistance reservoirs such as hospitals, intensive care units and nursing homes, and integrate them with sources not commonly identified as major sources of antibiotic resistance, such as residential or industrial sources. A comprehensive PCR-DGGE diversity analysis of wastewater antibiotic-resistant bacteria was performed to evaluate the role of various wastewater sources in the discharge of antibiotic resistance by a municipal treatment plant. Wastewater sources are clearly inducing resistance in the final effluent but the role of each source type is highly variable, likely as a function of variable environmental conditions or water use patterns. Comparisons between primary treatment and secondary treatment stages indicate a strong role of the intensity of the wastewater treatment in the diversity profiles of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. While pervasiveness of antibiotic resistance in the system impedes clear discrimination between sources in the tested system, there are indications of specific source type related impacts.

Influence of organic waste type and soil structure on the bacterial filtration rates in unsaturated intact soil columns.

Organic wastes are considered to be a source for the potentially pathogenic microorganisms found in surface and sub-surface water resources. Following their release from the organic waste matrix, bacteria often infiltrate into soil and may be transported to significant depths contaminating aquifers. We investigated the influence of soil texture and structure and most importantly the organic waste properties on the transport and filtration coefficients of Escherichia coli and total bacteria in undisturbed soil columns. Intact soil columns (diameter 16 cm and height 25 cm) were collected from two soils: sandy clay loam (SCL) and loamy sand (LS) in Hamadan, western Iran. The cores were amended with cow manure, poultry manure and sewage sludge at a rate of 10 Mg ha(-1) (dry basis). The amended soil cores were leached at a steady-state flux of 4.8 cm h(-1) (i.e. 0.12 of saturated hydraulic conductivity of the SCL) to a total volume of up to 4 times the pore volume of the columns. The influent (C(0)) and effluent (C) were sampled at similar time intervals during the experiments and bacterial concentrations were measured by the plate count method. Cumulative numbers of the leached bacteria, filtration coefficient (lambda(f)), and relative adsorption index (S(R)) were calculated. The preferential pathways and stable structure of the SCL facilitated the rapid transport and early appearance of the bacteria in the effluent. The LS filtered more bacteria when compared with the SCL. The effluent contamination of poultry manure-treated columns was greater than the cow manure- and sewage sludge-treated ones. The difference between cow manure and sewage sludge was negligible. The lambda(f) and S(R) values for E. coli and total bacteria were greater in the LS than in the SCL. This indicates a predominant role for the physical pore-obstruction filtration mechanisms as present in the poorly structured LS vs. the retention at adsorptive sites (chemical filtration) more likely in the better structured SCL. While the results confirmed the significant role of soil structure and preferential (macroporous) pathways, manure type was proven to have a major role in determining the maximum penetration risk of bacteria by governing filtration of bacteria. Thus while the numbers of bacteria in waste may be of significance for shallow aquifers, the type of waste may determine the risk for microbial contamination of deep aquifers.