In: Biology
Why is the detection of enterococci preferred? Explain.
How would you test for enterococci in water samples? Explain.
1) Enterococci are found in high concentrations in human feces, usually between 104 and 106bacteria per gram wet weight. Although enterococci usually represent less than 1% of the flora they are usually present in the fecal consortium, but are outnumbered by other bacteria, including Escherichia coli, clostridia, and the Bacteroidales.
Due to their ubiquity in human feces and persistence in the environment, enterococci have been adopted as indicators of human fecal pollution in water and thus it's detection is preferable.
2)