The Characterization and Detection of Human Associated Pathogens Within Aquatic Sediments in Florida
Defense Date
8-6-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Science
Degree Name
Biological Sciences
First Advisor
Jose V. Lopez, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
George Duncan, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Andrew Ozga, Ph.D.
Keywords
Thalassogenic Diseases, Himmarshee Canal, Fecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB), HF183
Abstract
Thalassogenic diseases, infectious diseases caused by wastewater pollution of marine environments, have been plaguing the world for generations. Every millimeter of raw wastewater may carry millions of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Water monitoring techniques generally rely on the sole detection of fecal indicator bacteria, while overlooking the significance of microbial data, especially via aquatic sediment. It is known that aquatic sediment can provide the ideal environment for pathogenic microorganisms to survive in. Using next-generation sequencing methods, amplifying the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, this study aimed to achieve the following objectives: 1) characterize the microbiome of the sediment in the Himmarshee Canal located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 2) comparatively analyze any microbial differences found in the compositions between two years, and 3) examine any potentially pathogenic microorganisms found. Additionally, the presence of a segment of the 16S rRNA gene that is a microbial marker for human fecal matter (HF183), will be investigated. It was found that the microbial composition was different between years and by collection sites. The category site was found to be significant regarding the inverse Simpson’s diversity index. Salinity was found to significantly influence microbial communities, while SIMPER analysis revealed that Sulfurovum could also be playing a role in establishing differences. Potential pathogens were identified in both years. Interestingly, HF183 was not detected, even though other Bacteroides sequences were. This study is the first of its kind in testing the presence of HF183 in aquatic sediment in South Florida and hopes to improve water quality surveillance.
ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/ 0009-0002-7793-1009
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
R Scrpt
NSUWorks Citation
Athena Giorgiou Capetanakis. 2025. The Characterization and Detection of Human Associated Pathogens Within Aquatic Sediments in Florida. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (218)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hcas_etd_all/218.