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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2006, p. 2471-2475, Vol. 72, No. 4
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.4.2471-2475.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Male-Specific Coliphages as Indicators of Thermal Inactivation of Pathogens in Biosolids

Sharon P. Nappier,{dagger} Michael D. Aitken,* and Mark D. Sobsey

Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7431

Received 5 October 2005/ Accepted 20 January 2006

Male-specific (F+) coliphages have been proposed as a candidate indicator of fecal contamination and of virus reduction in waste treatment. However, in this and earlier work with a laboratory thermophilic anaerobic digester, a heat-resistant fraction of F+ coliphage populations indigenous to municipal wastewater and sludge was evident. We therefore isolated coliphages from municipal wastewater sludge and from biosolid samples after thermophilic anaerobic digestion to evaluate the susceptibility of specific groups to thermal inactivation. Similar numbers of F+ DNA and F+ RNA coliphages were found in untreated sludge, but the majority of isolates in digested biosolids were group I F+ RNA phages. Separate experiments on individual isolates at 53°C confirmed the apparent heat resistance of group I F+ RNA coliphages as well as the susceptibility of group III F+ RNA coliphages. Although few F+ DNA coliphages were recovered from the treated biosolid samples, thermal inactivation experiments indicated heat resistance similar to that of group I F+ RNA phages. Hence, F+ DNA coliphage reductions during thermophilic anaerobic digestion are probably related to mechanisms other than thermal inactivation. Further studies should focus on the group III F+ RNA coliphages as potential indicators of reductions of heat-resistant pathogens in thermal processes for sludge treatment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7431. Phone: (919) 966-1481. Fax: (919) 966-7911. E-mail: mike_aitken{at}unc.edu.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2006, p. 2471-2475, Vol. 72, No. 4
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.4.2471-2475.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

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