UPCOMING SEMINAR

[Kanika Suri <Kanika.Suri@noaa.gov>]

Dr Elizabeth Alm from the Department of Biology at Centeral Michigan 
University will be giving a seminar on December 8 as a part of the NOAA/ 
University of Michigan Great Lakes and Human Health Seminar Series.

Please find details of her talk listed below.

Speaker: Dr. Elizabeth Alm 
<http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/alm1ew/AlmLab.html>, Department of 
Biology, Central Michigan University

Title: "Health Implications of Fecal Bacteria on Great Lakes beaches"

Date: Thursday December 8

Time: 10:30 am

Location: Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
              2205 Commonwealth Blvd.
              Ann Arbor, MI
              48105

Abstract
Recreational beaches may serve as both a reservoir of fecal bacteria and 
a contact point between these bacteria and the public. Recent studies at 
several Great Lakes beaches have demonstrated persistent, high densities 
of Escherichia coli and enterococci in beach sand. In both laboratory 
sand microcosms and in diffusion chamber studies in the field, E. coli 
isolated from Lake Huron sand were able to grow and to persist at high 
density. Multi-locus enzyme electrophoresis analysis suggests that the 
E. coli community of Lake Huron beaches is genetically diverse and that 
the rate of genetic exchange among the E. coli is high. Our working 
hypothesis is that the high cell densities combined with environmental 
stressors at the beach promote rapid lateral gene transfer among 
sand-associated bacteria. Among the genes that may be moving in the sand 
microbial community are genes for antibiotic resistance and for enhanced 
virulence. Approximately one third of E. coli isolated from Lake Huron 
beaches are resistant to commonly used antibiotics and in sand 
microcosms incubated under simulated beach conditions, laboratory 
strains of E. coli were able to transfer and receive plasmids encoding 
kanamycin-resistance. In addition we have isolated pathogenic strains of 
bacteria including E. coli O157:H7 and Shigella from recreational 
beaches. In DNA extracted from colonies on mTEC we have detected the 
genes encoding intimin and shiga toxins 1 and 2.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at 
kanika.suri@noaa.gov; or call 734-741-2147.

For more information about the seminar series, please visit our website 
at http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/news/seminars/

**************************************************************************************** 

Kanika Suri
Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health (CEGLHH)
2205 Commonwealth Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI
48105

734-741-2147


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