General information:
What are coliphage viruses?
Somatic coliphages are bacteriophages of enteric origin that infect Escherichia coli via cell surface receptors. They are the most widespread biological forms on Earth, estimated at ~ 10^31 particles in the biosphere. Somatic coliphages in a water sample indicate fecal contamination of human or animal origin.
Why should we test for coliphages?
Bacteriophages tend to persist in the environment and are moderately resistant to natural and anthropogenic stressors. They can only reproduce inside susceptible bacterial hosts. Many viruses are present in fecal-contaminated water, including norovirus, VHA, rotavirus, and adenovirus. Coliphages are used as fecal indicators because they mimic enteric viruses better than any other group of indicators and meet all conditions, showing persistence in the aquatic environment even after purification.
Features and benefits:
Bluephage Easy BP1604 is a kit for the detection and enumeration of somatic coliphages, according to ISO 10705-2 - single layer agar (SAL) method and US-EPA 1602, 1642 и 1643. The ready-to-use, "all-in-one" kit contains all the consumables and biological materials needed to perform 10 assays, including specific lyophilized cells of a host strain (E.coli WG5) that is ready for use after 120-150 minutes of incubation.
The method is applicable to samples with a low concentration of coliphages, for example from drinking water.
Working principle:
A 100 ml sample was mixed with a fresh culture of the host strain. Add to thawed culture medium and dispense into 5 petri dishes. Incubation is then performed. The results are summed and expressed as the number of plaque forming units (pfu) per 100 ml.
The kit includes:
10 x E.coli strain WG5
10 x Modified Scholten's Broth (MSB), supplemented with calcium chloride
10 x Calcium chloride 1.0 M
5 x Bacteriophage фх174
10 x Semi-solid Modified Scholten's Agar (ssMSA) - glass bottle containing 100 mL of 2X MSA supplemented with nalidixic acid.
Additional material not provided in the kit:
50 x Sterile Petri dishes 140 mm
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