Approaches to the Development of an Assessment of the Quality and Authenticity of Natural Drinking Water Supplied from Lake Baikal

Abstract

The article discusses approaches to the organization of assessment of the quality and authenticity of natural drinking water supplied from Lake Baikal. These developments are based on molecular biology methods to determine the quality and authenticity of natural drinking water supplied from Lake Baikal. A unique property of bacteria to form restriction enzymes (ER) as a reaction to the ingress of extraneous microflora into the habitat has been revealed. This method of searching and determining ER enzymes is widely used in scientific research. Quality control and authenticity of Baikal drinking water when it is bottled for sale is not carried out. In this work, it was found that in strains of bacteria isolated from areas of anthropogenic influence, where allochthonous (extraneous) microflora falls, strains of bacteria with ER enzymes were detected. In water samples taken in clean background areas (pelagic lakes, deep-sea sediments), bacteria with enzymes (ER) are not detected. The fact is substantiated that the detection of ER enzymes in bacterial strains is evidence that the water is taken either in areas where extraneous microflora enters, or water is not from a natural source – Lake Baikal. This property of bacteria is the basis for assessing the quality and authenticity of natural drinking water supplied from Lake Baikal. This approach makes it possible to establish the authenticity of Baikal drinking water and the exclusion of fakes.