Evaluation of the novel substrate RUG™ for the detection of: Escherichia coli in water from temperate (Zurich, Switzerland) and tropical (Bushenyi, Uganda) field sites

Genter, F; Marks, SJ; Clair-Caliot, G; Mugume, DS; Johnston, RB; Bain, RES; Julian, TR

Evaluation of the novel substrate RUG™ for the detection of: Escherichia coli in water from temperate (Zurich, Switzerland) and tropical (Bushenyi, Uganda) field sites

Genter, F

Marks, SJ Clair-Caliot, G Mugume, DS Johnston, RB Bain, RES Julian, TR

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Publisher:: ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology, 2019, 5, (6), pp. 1082-1091
Issue Date:: 2019-06-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Genter, F https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5867-4671
dc.contributor.author	Marks, SJ
dc.contributor.author	Clair-Caliot, G
dc.contributor.author	Mugume, DS
dc.contributor.author	Johnston, RB
dc.contributor.author	Bain, RES
dc.contributor.author	Julian, TR
dc.date.accessioned	2022-10-30T01:03:06Z
dc.date.available	2022-10-30T01:03:06Z
dc.date.issued	2019-06-01
dc.identifier.citation	Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology, 2019, 5, (6), pp. 1082-1091
dc.identifier.issn	2053-1400
dc.identifier.issn	2053-1419
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/162887
dc.description.abstract	Direct testing of water quality to promote drinking water safety contributes to the sustainable development goals, which call for universal access to safely-managed drinking water services by 2030. Enzyme-substrate tests offer a potentially simple and reliable approach for the detection and quantification of fecal indicator bacteria, including Escherichia coli (E. coli). The novel aquatest (AT) based on resorufin-β-d-glucuronide methyl ester (RUG™) (AT-RUG) is an enzyme-substrate test that overcomes several drawbacks of other established tests. In this study, AT-RUG was used to detect and quantify E. coli in water from temperate (Zurich, Switzerland) and tropical (Bushenyi, Uganda) regions. Quantitative results of AT-RUG were compared with IDEXX Colilert-18® (C-18), m-TEC and m-ColiBlue24®. In temperate waters, AT-RUG was found to be as sensitive as m-TEC (97.0%) and C-18 (98.5%) and showed strong agreement with the reference methods. The false-positive rate for E. coli detection in temperate waters using AT-RUG was 6%. AT-RUG performed well at incubation temperatures of 37 °C and 45 °C, but not at 24 °C. In tropical waters, AT-RUG sensitivity was 94.1% compared to m-ColiBlue24®. AT-RUG detected significantly more E. coli than m-ColiBlue24®, suggesting it is a more conservative estimate. At both field sites, AT-RUG was able to effectively indicate categorical concentrations of E. coli in water samples indicating the level of risks of fecal contamination of water supplies. This study indicates that AT-RUG is a reliable and accurate medium for the detection and quantification of E. coli in temperate and tropical waters.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
dc.relation.ispartof	Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1039/c9ew00138g
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	0399 Other Chemical Sciences, 0905 Civil Engineering, 0907 Environmental Engineering
dc.title	Evaluation of the novel substrate RUG™ for the detection of: Escherichia coli in water from temperate (Zurich, Switzerland) and tropical (Bushenyi, Uganda) field sites
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	5
utslib.for	0399 Other Chemical Sciences
utslib.for	0905 Civil Engineering
utslib.for	0907 Environmental Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-10-30T01:03:05Z
pubs.issue	6
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	5
utslib.citation.issue	6

Abstract:

Direct testing of water quality to promote drinking water safety contributes to the sustainable development goals, which call for universal access to safely-managed drinking water services by 2030. Enzyme-substrate tests offer a potentially simple and reliable approach for the detection and quantification of fecal indicator bacteria, including Escherichia coli (E. coli). The novel aquatest (AT) based on resorufin-β-d-glucuronide methyl ester (RUG™) (AT-RUG) is an enzyme-substrate test that overcomes several drawbacks of other established tests. In this study, AT-RUG was used to detect and quantify E. coli in water from temperate (Zurich, Switzerland) and tropical (Bushenyi, Uganda) regions. Quantitative results of AT-RUG were compared with IDEXX Colilert-18® (C-18), m-TEC and m-ColiBlue24®. In temperate waters, AT-RUG was found to be as sensitive as m-TEC (97.0%) and C-18 (98.5%) and showed strong agreement with the reference methods. The false-positive rate for E. coli detection in temperate waters using AT-RUG was 6%. AT-RUG performed well at incubation temperatures of 37 °C and 45 °C, but not at 24 °C. In tropical waters, AT-RUG sensitivity was 94.1% compared to m-ColiBlue24®. AT-RUG detected significantly more E. coli than m-ColiBlue24®, suggesting it is a more conservative estimate. At both field sites, AT-RUG was able to effectively indicate categorical concentrations of E. coli in water samples indicating the level of risks of fecal contamination of water supplies. This study indicates that AT-RUG is a reliable and accurate medium for the detection and quantification of E. coli in temperate and tropical waters.

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