Esterase enzyme activity from three waterborne bacterial species exposed to five contaminant compounds found in wastewaters

To explore the capacity of microbiota to reflect water quality, we advanced methods using flow cytometry for measuring bacterial metabolic activity. After exposure of three bacterial species to five compounds that can be found in watersheds (i.e., an herbicide, a preservative, an antibiotic, and two hormones), flow cytometry methodology was used to measure esterase activity.