"Both entities, human and animals were polluting, but wildlife causes a significant amount of pollution in Apalachicola Bay," Tamplin said.
From their testing in the bay, UF scientists have developed a database of more than 1,000 E. coli strains that will serve as a model for testing in other water bodies.
"E. coli is a very convenient organism to test for," Tamplin said. "We use E. coli to measure the probability of other harmful bacteria in the water. We hope to be able to have folks send us water samples and to run these tests on it for them. We think this type of test could be used all over the country to detect pollution in water."
Despite hours of complex testimony in the O.J. Simpson trial, the DNA "fingerprint" testing used by the UF scientists is fairly simple to understand, Tamplin said. Picture a thread that represents one person or animal. By taking one thread from one entity and another thread from someone else and then applying an enzyme to it, the enzyme will cut each thread in different places.
"Then, we look at the number of cuts and where they are to determine if it is a person or an animal," Tamplin explained. "What we start to see are patterns that emerge and they are different in humans than in wildlife."
Edmiston said knowing where the pollution came from could help save time and money spent devising solutions to protect the environment.
"Down the road, these techniques could be used to help us manage our problems," Edmiston said. "There is good potential here to help us develop management plans for different sources of pollution."
'"/>
Contact: Dr. Mark Tamplin
MLT@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu
352-392-2030
University of Florida
27-Jun-1996