For Favour of Posting
THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Division of Life Science
Life Science Seminar Series
Effective monitoring and management of the
microbiological quality of water resources through the
understanding of the ecologic character of fecal bacteria
by
Prof. Stanley LAU
Abstract
Fecal pollution of water resources is an environmental problem that is arguably as old as the human civilization.
Despite the rapid advancement in environmental technology over the past century, fecal pollution of water
resources remains a ubiquitous public health risk factor even for highly modernized countries. Monitoring the
type and quantity of pathogens would be the most straightforward strategy to assess the microbiological quality
of water resources. However, this remains a very difficult task for routine water quality monitoring programs,
particularly for underprivileged societies, due to the high diversity and relatively low infectious dose of fecal
pathogens. As alternative, it is an international standard to evaluate the microbiological quality of water
resources using a few selected species of fecal indicator bacteria (e.g. E. coli and Enterococcus spp.) as
surrogates of the pathogens. These fecal indicator bacteria are comprised of largely non-pathogenic strains and
are present in feces in much higher concentrations than the obligate pathogens. As gut microbiota, they are
destined to leave animal hosts and are faced with strong selective pressure in the external environmental
matrices. Very little is known for this facet of the life of these bacteria, although they represent some of the most
investigated model organisms in the lab and clinical settings. Such highly skewed understanding of the
ecological character of the fecal indicator bacteria has serious impacts to the sensitivity and specificity of their
use in the detection of pollution events and in the assessment of health risks. In this presentation, I will provide
an overview of our research that aims to understand the ecologic character of fecal bacteria in the marine
environments. The findings have important implications not only to accurate and sensitive assessment of the
microbiological quality of water resources but also the basic understanding of the biogeography, physiological
and metabolic versatility, and evolution and adaptation of fecal bacteria.
Date
:
13 November 2015 (Friday)
Time
:
4:00 p.m.
Venue
:
Padma and Hari Harilela Lecture Theater (LT-C)
The HK University of Science & Technology,
Clear Water Bay, Kowloon
(Host faculty: Prof. Bik Tye)
All are Welcome!!