Microbial source tracking of fecal pollution in four rivers around Hachinohe was performed using host- specific genetic markers and high-throughput sequencing techniques. The concentrations of Bacteroidales -specific marker representing total fecal pollution ranged from 103 to 105 copies/100mL. The human-specific maker was detected in two rivers, whereas the cow- and pig-specific markers were not detected. Bacterial community analysis based on 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing showed that 11 pathogenic bacteria were detected and their relative abundance were 0.0-0.87% (median 0.076%).
