

@article {4272,
	title = {{Improved detection of F-specific RNA coliphages in fecal material by extraction and polyethylene glycol precipitation.}},
	journal = {Applied and Environmental Microbiology},
	volume = {75},
	number = {19},
	year = {2009},
	month = {oct},
	pages = {6142{\textendash}6},
	abstract = {<p>Male-specific RNA coliphages (F-RNA coliphages) have been proposed as a potential viral indicator of fecal contamination in water and foods because they are easy to culture and are a normal component of the mammalian gut flora. F-RNA coliphage plaque numbers are typically obtained by directly plating a 10-fold dilution of 1 g of fecal material, but the numbers of F-RNA coliphages shed by animals and humans may be too low for direct enumeration. Therefore, the sensitivity of detecting F-RNA coliphages in fecal material was improved by extracting and precipitating F-RNA coliphage from a 10-g fecal sample by use of polyethylene glycol (PEG). The highest recovery of F-RNA coliphage with 10{\%} beef extract, pH 7.2, was obtained in the presence of 1 M NaCl and 10{\%} PEG after 16 h of precipitation, but a pellet was not obtained after a short precipitation time of 2 h. There was no significant difference between eluant-to-fecal-material ratios of 4:1 and 9:1 or homogenization with a stomacher or pulsifier. F-RNA coliphage were detected in 64{\%} (16 of 25 samples) of fecal samples from various sources when the sample size was 10 g but in 36{\%} (9 of 25 samples) of samples when the sample size was 1 g. When F-RNA coliphage were detected in 1-g samples, they were also detected in 10-g samples. When F-RNA coliphage were detected in 10-g samples but not in 1-g samples, the levels were {\textless}100 PFU/g.</p>
},
	keywords = {Animals, Bacteriological Techniques, Bacteriological Techniques: methods, Chemical Precipitation, Coliphages, Coliphages: isolation {\&} purification, Feces, Feces: virology, Humans, Polyethylene Glycols, Polyethylene Glycols: chemistry, RNA Phages, RNA Phages: isolation {\&} purification, Sensitivity and Specificity, Viral Plaque Assay, Virology, Virology: methods},
	issn = {1098-5336},
	doi = {10.1128/AEM.00436-09},
	url = {http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2753055{\&}tool=pmcentrez{\&}rendertype=abstract},
	author = {Jones, Tineke H and Johns, Michael W}
}
