Abstract
Bacterial species present in the Berg and Plankenburg Rivers (Western Cape, South Africa) were isolated from water and biofilm samples and population shifts between sampling sites were phylogenetically identified. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction of representative isolates was performed and amplified using 2 different primer sets. Various Enterobacteriaceae species were present at all of the sites, confirming faecal contamination. Phylogenetic analyses also showed that, in general, Gram-negative micro-organisms dominated at all of the sites sampled in both the Berg and Plankenburg river systems. Pathogens and opportunistic pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus sp., and Bacillus cereus, were isolated from the Berg River. Similarly, in the Plankenburg River system, Aeromonas sp., Acinetobacter sp., Stenotrophomonas sp. and Yersinia enterocolitica were also isolated. This raises major health concerns as human population densities along both rivers are high, thus resulting in increased human exposure to these organisms.
Highlights
South Africa’s water resources service various industrial, agricultural and domestic sectors, which in turn may contribute to the point or non-point source contamination of these valuable water sources
Based on the results obtained from these studies, deoxyribonucleic acid analysis was performed on samples collected from Sites A and B2 (Berg River) and from Sites A and B (Plankenburg River)
Phylogenetic analyses showed that Gram-negative microorganisms dominated at all of the sites sampled in both the Berg and Plankenburg River systems;
Summary
South Africa’s water resources service various industrial, agricultural and domestic sectors, which in turn may contribute to the point or non-point source contamination of these valuable water sources. In many areas of South Africa, and worldwide, informal housing schemes are often established along the banks of river systems. The most common bacterial pollutants isolated from water sources include Escherichia coli (E. coli), Vibrio cholerae, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella and Aeromonas hydrophila (Lightfoot, 2003). In South Africa, the presence of E. coli pathogens in sewage-contaminated river water and E. coli O157:H7 in sewage (Müller et al, 2001), was confirmed in an assessment conducted in 2003. Pathogens such as Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae and coliphages have been isolated from the final effluent of wastewater treatment facilities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa (Momba et al, 2006)
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