Presence of Erwinia chrysanthemi in two major river systems and their alpine sources in Australia

Abstract

C other , E.J. & G ilbert , R.L. 1990. Presence of Erwinia chrysanthemi in two major river systems and their alpine sources in Australia. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 69 , 729–738. Erwinia chrysanthemi was isolated over three summers by filtration, with or without enrichment, of water samples from the headwaters of the Murray and Murrum‐bidgee Rivers and from several locations downstream. The bacterium could not be detected in streams rising adjacent to headwater catchments nor could it be detected in freshly voided faeces of native and domestic animals in the vicinity of the Mur‐rumbidgee headwaters. Although it survived passage through the intestinal tract of a guinea pig and fowl, it did not persist in either animal. The bacterium survived for at least 211 days at 16d̀C in sterile distilled water. The specific localities from which the bacterium was isolated and the lack of external sources of inoculum indicate that E. chrysanthemi is most likely a constituent of the sessile bacterial population on stream weeds and sediments and is not a contaminant of this alpine environment.