A rapid reverse transcription-PCR assay for F+ RNA coliphages to trace fecal pollution in Table Rock Lake on the Arkansas-Missouri border.

Source determination of fecal contamination is imperative to efficiently reduce the fecal material load to environmental waters. This study developed primer pairs targeting three F+ RNA bacteriophages and a simple filtration sampling method to enumerate and identify coliphages in environmental waters. Water samples were collected seasonally for one year from the watershed of Table Rock Lake on the Arkansas-Missouri border in areas predisposed to fecal contamination. Collected samples were analyzed quantitatively with most probable number and plaque assays and qualitatively with reverse transcription-PCR. We demonstrated the usefulness of F+ RNA coliphages as an indicator of fecal contamination, but were unable to distinguish between human and non-human sources. F+ coliphage numbers in Table Rock Lake showed seasonal variation with the highest level of coliphage presence during the January sampling event.