Resiliency of E. coli and Enterococci in Poultry Litter, and Subsequent Efficiency of Poultry Markers, through Wetting and Drying Cycles.

The application of 1.6 billion kg per year of chicken litter as a fertilizer has led to widespread water body impairment across the United States. Pathogenic microorganisms in chicken litter, such as Escherichia coli and enterococci, may be able to survive through numerous wetting and drying cycles. The potential of these pathogenic microorganisms to survive despite drastic moisture variants implies that they have greater potential to be leached through to surface and groundwater sources as runoff and contaminate water bodies. We enumerated the culturable E. coli and enterococci in poultry litter with moisture contents of 13%, 25%, 50%, and 75% over a two-week period. Culturable E. coli under different temperatures of 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, and 50°C over a four-week period were also enumerated. All experiments were conducted in mesocosms in a laboratory setting. Samples from each treatment were also analyzed for the presence of poultry contamination specific marker (LA35) using quantitative PCR. Preliminary findings suggest moisture content does not have a significant effect on the survival of either E. coli or enterococci. Results from subsequent experiments will be presented.