RESUMO
AIMS: The focus of this study was to identify a bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequence, unique to microbiota in the human gut, for use in development of a dependable PCR assay to detect human faecal pollution in water. METHODS AND RESULTS: Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) and bioinformatics were used to identify a genetic marker, within the 16S rRNA gene of Faecalibacterium, for the detection of human faeces. DNA sequencing analysis demonstrated that a majority (16) of 74 clones of the SSH library contained insertion sequences identified as Faecalibacterium 16S rRNA genes. Human faeces-specific sequences were derived and six PCR primer sets designed and tested against faecal DNA samples from human and nonhuman sources. One PCR primer set, HFB-F3 and HFB-R5, was exclusively associated with human faeces. These primers generated a human faeces-specific amplicon of 399 bp from 60.2% of human faecal samples and 100% of sewage samples. CONCLUSIONS: The subject Faecalibacterium marker is specific for sewage. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study represents the initial report of a Faecalibacterium marker for human faeces, which may prove useful for microbial source tracking.