Validation of host-specific Bacteriodales 16S rRNA genes as markers to determine the origin of faecal pollution in Atlantic Rim countries of the European Union
Résumé
The recent implementation of the Revised Bathing Water Directive in the European Union
has highlighted the need for development of effective methods to differentiate between
sources of faecal contamination. It had previously been shown that amplification of 16S
rRNA genes of host-specific Bacteriodales species using the HF183F and CF128F primers
could be used as markers for human and bovine faecal contamination in the United States.
This paper determined the sensitivity and specificity of these markers in four Atlantic Rim
countries (France, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom) to evaluate their usefulness in
determining the origin of faecal contamination. It was shown that the HF183F marker
displayed high sensitivity (80–100%) and specificity (91–100%), and is reliable as an
indication of human faecal contamination. The CF128F marker displayed 100% sensitivity
in all four countries. However, strong regional variations in specificity (41–96%) were
observed, highlighting the need for local validation before this marker is employed in
source tracking of faecal contamination.