Bacterial diseases are frequently transmitted throughcontaminated water; thus, the detection of microbiological contaminationis important in assuring sanitary water supplies. Current tests arelabor intensive and require several days to confirm contaminationlevels. This project will demonstrate the feasibility of a unique, rapidwater-quality test for bacteria. Phase I focuses on the development ofspecialized chemiluminescent deoxyoligonucleotide probes. These DNAprobes will be complementary to universal bacterial, coliform-group, andE. coli-specific ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences and, thus, willhybridize only when one of these is present, making it possible torapidly detect bacterial contamination. In order to produce a visibleresponse, chemiluminescent agents will be covalently linked to thedeoxyoligonucleotide probes. The probes will be short, 15 to 25 baseslong, allowing intact cells to be probed without first extracting thetarget rRNA. To measure and quantitate the chemiluminescent emission, anumber of commercially available light detectors, includingfield-portable units currently in development by the firm will betested. Using these new probes the number of bacteria in water samplesshould be determined in as little as one hour.The product will be simple, rapid, and sensitive tests for determiningtotal bacterial contamination as well as the sanitary quality of anywater supply. Potential applications include field testing, home testkits, and on-line real-time monitoring for use in the USA and abroad.probes, rRNA, deoxyoligonucleotides, coliforms, E. coli,chemiluminescence, water-quality, bacteria
