Revealing the changes of bacterial community from water source to consumers tap: A full-scale investigation in eastern city of China

This study profiled the bacterial community variations of water from four water treatment systems, including coagulation, sedimentation, sand filtration, ozonation-biological activated carbon filtration (O₃-BAC), disinfection, and the tap water after the distribution process in eastern China. The results showed that different water treatment processes affected the bacterial community structure in different ways. The traditional treatment processes, including coagulation, sedimentation and sand filtration, reduced the total bacterial count, while they had little effect on the bacterial community structure in the treated water (before disinfection). Compared to the traditional treatment process, O₃-BAC reduced the relative abundance of Sphingomonas in the finished water. In addition, ozonation may play a role in reducing the relative abundance of Mycobacterium. NaClO and ClO₂ had different effects on the bacterial community in the finished water. The relative abundance of some bacteria (e.g. Flavobacterium, Phreatobacter and Porphyrobacter) increased in the finished water after ClO₂ disinfection. The relative abundance of Mycobacterium and Legionella, which have been widely reported as waterborne opportunistic pathogens, increased after NaClO disinfection. In addition, some microorganisms proliferated and grew in the distribution system, which could lead to turbidity increases in the tap water. Compared to those in the finished water, the relative abundance of Sphingomonas, Hyphomicrobium, Phreatobacter, Rheinheimera, Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter increased in the tap water disinfected with NaClO, while the relative abundance of Mycobacterium increased in the tap water disinfected with ClO₂. Overall, this study provided the detailed variation in the bacterial community in the drinking water system.     

水源切换对水厂出水细菌群落的影响

针对水源切换可能造成水厂出水微生物风险的问题,以北京某水厂由本地水源切换为河北水源期间原水和出厂水为研究对象,采用焦磷酸测序技术对水中的微生物种群结构和潜在致病菌进行分析.结果显示,出厂水的细菌多样性显著低于原水,原水和出厂水中的优势菌均为变形菌门(Proteobacteria),所占比例为11.99%~95.48%,其中包括α,β和γ变形菌纲(α, β, γ-Proteobacteria),但相对丰度有较大差异.水源切换后的原水中优势菌为蓝藻门(Cyanobacteria),且该菌在切换后的出厂水中也存在.出厂水中检测到部分潜在致病菌,优势菌包括不动杆菌(Acinetobacter)和代尔夫特菌(Delftia),增加了饮用水的微生物安全风险.PCoA结果显示,水源切换前后原水中细菌群落结构变化较大,但改变水源对出厂水的微生物群落影响较小,水厂能够维持稳定的运行.     

Characterization of bacterial community dynamics in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant

Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of microbial communities in drinking water systems is vital to securing the microbial safety of drinking water. The objective of this study was to comprehensively characterize the dynamics of microbial biomass and bacterial communities at each step of a full-scale drinking water treatment plant in Beijing, China. Both bulk water and biofilm samples on granular activated carbon (GAC) were collected over 9 months. The proportion of cultivable cells decreased during the treatment processes, and this proportion was higher in warm season than cool season, suggesting that treatment processes and water temperature probably had considerable impact on the R2A cultivability of total bacteria. 16s rRNA gene based 454 pyrosequencing analysis of the bacterial community revealed that Proteobacteria predominated in all samples. The GAC biofilm harbored a distinct population with a much higher relative abundance of Acidobacteria than water samples. Principle coordinate analysis and one-way analysis of similarity indicated that the dynamics of the microbial communities in bulk water and biofilm samples were better explained by the treatment processes rather than by sampling time, and distinctive changes of the microbial communities in water occurred after GAC filtration. Furthermore, 20 distinct OTUs contributing most to the dissimilarity among samples of different sampling locations and 6 persistent OTUs present in the entire treatment process flow were identified. Overall, our findings demonstrate the significant effects that treatment processes have on the microbial biomass and community fluctuation and provide implications for further targeted investigation on particular bacteria populations.     

Occurrence and infection risk of waterborne pathogens in Wanzhou watershed of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

The Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), formed by China’s Yangtze Three Gorges Project, is the largest lake in the world, but there is too little information available about fecal contamination and waterborne pathogen impacts on this aquatic ecosystem. During two successive 1-year study periods (July 2009 to July 2011), the water quality in Wanzhou watershed of the TGR was tested with regard to the presence of fecal indicators and pathogens. According to Chinese and World Health Organization water quality standards, water quality in the mainstream was good but poor in backwater areas. Salmonella, Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), Giardia and Cryptosporidium were detected in the watershed. Prevalence and concentrations of the pathogens in the mainstream were lower than those in backwater areas. The estimated risk of infection with Salmonella, EHEC, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia per exposure event ranged from 2.9 × 10 -7 to 1.68 × 10-5 , 7.04 × 10-10 to 2.36 × 10-7 , 5.39 × 10-6 to 1.25 × 10-4 and 0 to 1.2 × 10-3 , respectively, for occupational divers and recreational swimmers exposed to the waters. The estimated risk of infection at exposure to the 95% upper confidence limit concentrations of Salmonella, Cryptosporidium and Giardia may be up to 2.62 × 10-5 , 2.55 × 10-4 and 2.86 × 10-3 , respectively. This study provides useful information for the residents, health care workers and managers to improve the safety of surface water and reduce the risk of fecal contamination in the TGR.     

基于宏基因组学探讨东平湖水库的菌群结构、耐药基因谱及其公共健康风险

水库中长时间滞留的水体会成为耐药基因的存储库,因此研究其菌群结构、耐药基因谱及其潜在的健康风险具有重要的公共卫生学意义.本研究以东平湖水库的水体和沉积物为研究对象,采用宏基因组测序技术,系统分析其在旱季和雨季中的菌群结构、耐药基因谱、耐药基因水平转移以及携带耐药基因的致病菌类型.结果表明,与水库沉积物相比,水体中的菌群结构和耐药基因谱受季节影响较大,且旱季的总耐药基因丰度明显高于雨季;水库沉积物中总耐药基因丰度高于水体,但水体中耐药基因的水平转移高于沉积物.本研究共检测到20个耐药基因型,377个耐药基因亚型;杆菌素和万古霉素耐药基因分别是水和沉积物中主要的耐药基因型,变形杆菌和放线菌分别是水体和沉积物中主要携带耐药基因的菌群.此外,本研究还鉴定出30株携带耐药基因的致病菌,包括大肠杆菌、肺炎克雷伯菌、铜绿假单胞菌、肠炎沙门氏菌以及鲍曼不动杆菌,其中有2株大肠杆菌携带毒力因子.综上所述,东平湖水库中的耐药基因不仅种类繁多,而且还存在潜在的公共健康风险;因此定期检测水体环境的菌群结构及其耐药基因谱具有重要的科学价值和现实意义.     

Investigating the bacterial community and amoebae population in rural domestic wastewater reclamation for irrigation

Reclamation of domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation is viewed as a sustainable option to create an alternative water source and address water scarcity. Free-living amoebae(FLA), which are amphizoic protozoa, are widely distributed in various environmental sources. The FLA could cause considerable environmental and health risks. However, little information is available on the risk of these protozoa. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility using rural domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation, and analyzed dynamic changes of the microbial community structure and FLA populations in raw and treated wastewater, as well as the phyllosphere and rhizosphere of lettuce production sites that were irrigated with different water sources. The bacterial community dynamics were analyzed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism(T-RFLP). The bacterial community structures in the influent were similar to that in the effluent, while in some cases relative abundances varied significantly. The populations of Acanthamoeba spp. and Hartmannella vermiformis in the anaerobically treated wastewater were significantly higher than in the raw wastewater. The vegetables could harbor diverse amoebae, and the abundances of Acanthamoeba spp. and H. vermiformis in the rhizosphere were significantly higher than in the phyllosphere. Accordingly, our studies show insight into the distribution and dissemination of amoebae in wastewater treatment and irrigation practices.     

Experimental study using the dilution incubation method to assess water biostability

Water biostability is of particular concern to water supply as a major limiting factor for heterotrophic bacterial growth in water distribution systems. This study focused on bacterial growth dynamics in the series dilution of water samples with TOC（total organic carbon） values determined beforehand. The results showed that the specific growth rate of Pseudomonas fluorescens P17 varied dramatically and irregularly with TOC value when TOC concentrations were low enough during the initial periods of incubation under given conditions. According to this relationship between bacterial growth rate and TOC, a dilution incubation method was designed for the study of water biostability. With the method under a given condition, a turning-point TOC value was found at a relatively fixed point in the curve between bacterial growth rate and TOC of water sample, and the variation of growth rate had different characteristics below the turning-point TOC value relative to that over this value. A turning-point TOC value similarly existed in all experiments not only with tap water, but also with acetate and mixed solutions. And in the dilution incubation method study, the affections were analyzed by condition factors such as inoculum amount,incubation time and nature of the organic carbon source. In very low organic carbon water environments, the variation characteristics of bacterial growth rate will be useful to further understand the meaning of water biostability.     

The impact of UV treatment on microbial control and DBPs formation in full-scale drinking water systems in northern China

To manage potential microbial risks and meet increasingly strict drinking water health standards, UV treatment has attracted increasing attention for use in drinking water systems in China. However, the effects of UV treatment on microbial control and disinfection by-products (DBPs) formation in real municipal drinking water systems are poorly understood. Here, we collected water samples from three real drinking water systems in Beijing and Tianjin to investigate the impacts of UV treatment on microbial control and DBP formation. We employed heterotrophic plate count (HPC), flow cytometry (FCM), quantitative PCR analysis, and high-throughput sequencing to measure microorganisms in the samples. Different trends were observed between HPC and total cell count (measured by FCM), indicating that a single indicator could not reflect the real degree of biological re-growth in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs). A significant increase in the 16S rRNA gene concentration was observed when the UV system was stopped. Besides, the bacterial community composition was similar at the phylum level but differed markedly at the genera level among the three DWDSs. Some chlorine-resistant bacteria, including potential pathogens (e.g., Acinetobacter) showed a high relative abundance when the UV system was turned off. It can be concluded that UV treatment can mitigate microbial re-growth to some extent. Finally, UV treatment had a limited influence on the formation of DBPs, including trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, and nitrogenated DBPs. The findings of this study may help to understand the performance of UV treatment in real drinking water systems.     

Spatial and temporal dynamics of microbial community composition and factors influencing the surface water and sediments of urban rivers

The temporal and spatial characteristics of urban river bacterial communities help us understand the feedback mechanism of bacteria to changes in the aquatic environment.The Fuhe River plays an important role in determining the water ecological environment of Baiyangdian Lake.16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to study the microbial distribution characteristics in the Fuhe River in different seasons.The results showed that some environmental factors of the surface water (ammonia nitrogen (NH_...     

Characterization of bacterial community and iron corrosion in drinking water distribution systems with O3-biological activated carbon treatment

Bacterial community structure and iron corrosion were investigated for simulated drinking water distribution systems(DWDSs) composed of annular reactors incorporating three different treatments: ozone, biologically activated carbon and chlorination(O_3-BAC-Cl_2);ozone and chlorination(O3-Cl_2); or chlorination alone(Cl_2). The lowest corrosion rate and iron release, along with more Fe_3O_4 formation, occurred in DWDSs with O_3-BAC-Cl_2 compared to those without a BAC filter. It was verified that O_3-BAC influenced the bacterial community greatly to promote the relative advantage of nitrate-reducing bacteria(NRB)in DWDSs. Moreover, the advantaged NRB induced active Fe(III) reduction coupled to Fe(II) oxidation, enhancing Fe_3O_4 formation and inhibiting corrosion. In addition, O_3-BAC pretreatment could reduce high-molecular-weight fractions of dissolved organic carbon effectively to promote iron particle aggregation and inhibit further iron release. Our findings indicated that the O_3-BAC treatment, besides removing organic pollutants in water, was also a good approach for controlling cast iron corrosion and iron release in DWDSs.     

Applicability of LIVE/DEAD BacLight stain with glutaraldehyde fixation for the measurement of bacterial abundance and viability in rainwater

Rainwater contains substantial bacteria and rain is an efficient pathway for the dissemination of bacteria from the atmosphere to land and water surfaces.However,quantitative information on rainwater bacteria is very limited due to the lack of a reliable method.In this study,the epifluorescence microscopy enumeration with the LIVE/DEAD BacLight Bacterial Viability Kit stain was verified to quantify the abundance of viable and non-viable bacterial cells in rainwater,with the 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole(DAPI) stain for the reference of total cell counts.Results showed that the total counts of bacterial cells by LIVE/DEAD BacLight staining were consistent with those by DAPI staining,and the average detection efficiency was(109 ± 29)%.The ratio of cell count with glutaraldehyde fixation to that without fixation was(106 ± 5)%on average.The bacterial concentration in negative control was usually an order of magnitude lower than that in rainwater samples.However,in case of small precipitation,the abundance in negative control could be more than that in rainwater samples.These results indicate that the enumeration with LIVE/DEAD BacLight bacterial viability assay coupled with glutaraldehyde fixation and careful negative control investigation is an approach applicable to the measurement of the concentration and viability of bacterial cells in rainwater.     

Temporal and spatial changes of microbial community in an industrial effluent receiving area in Hangzhou Bay

Anthropogenic activities usually contaminate water environments, and have led to the eutrophication of many estuaries and shifts in microbial communities. In this study, the temporal and spatial changes of the microbial community in an industrial effluent receiving area in Hangzhou Bay were investigated by 454 pyrosequencing. The bacterial community showed higher richness and biodiversity than the archaeal community in all sediments. Proteobacteria dominated in the bacterial communities of all the samples; Marine_Group_Ⅰ and Methanomicrobia were the two dominant archaeal classes in the effluent receiving area. PCoA and AMOVA revealed strong seasonal but minor spatial changes in both bacterial and archaeal communities in the sediments. The seasonal changes of the bacterial community were less significant than those of the archaeal community, which mainly consisted of fluctuations in abundance of a large proportion of longstanding species rather than the appearance and disappearance of major archaeal species. Temperature was found to positively correlate with the dominant bacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and negatively correlate with the dominant archaea,Marine_Group_Ⅰ; and might be the primary driving force for the seasonal variation of the microbial community.     

人工湿地系统中微生物的研究进展

微生物在人工湿地系统净化污水过程中发挥着重要作用。文章介绍了人工湿地系统中微生物的研究进展,重点讨论了人工湿地对病原微生物的去除以及系统基质中微生物的种群和活性等内容。     

繁茂膜海绵生物修复养殖水体中病原体的初步研究

研究繁茂膜海绵(Hymeniacidon perleve)滤食近海养殖水体中病原体细菌.海绵处理海水24 h后,海水中总大肠菌群、弧菌和总细菌分别比初始数量降低55.%～91.%、55.%～96.%和25.%～95.%.海绵滤食总大肠菌群、弧菌和总细菌速率分别在4.～105./(h·g)、1.×104～3.×104/(h·g)和2.×106～48.×106/(h·g),且滤食速率随细菌初始数量的加大而增加.当初始细菌总数在55×104～250×104/mL范围内,海绵滤食细菌的速率与细菌初始数量成线性正相关,其斜率为0.2.     

Cow dung-derived biochars engineered as antibacterial agents for bacterial decontamination

Disposal of the pollutants arising from farming cattle and other livestock threatens the environment and public safety in diverse ways. Herein, we report on the synthesis of engineered biochars using cow dung as raw material, and investigating these biochars as antibacterial agents for water decontamination. By coating the biochars with N-halamine polymer and loading them with active chlorine (i.e., Cl⁺), we were able to regulate them on demand by tuning the polymer coating and bleaching conditions. The obtained N-halamine-modified biochars were found to be extremely potent against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. We also investigated the possibility of using these N-halamine-modified biochars for bacterial decontamination in real-world applications. Our findings indicated that a homemade filter column packed with N-halamine-modified biochars removed pathogenic bacteria from mining sewage, dairy sewage, domestic sewage, and artificial seawater. This proposed strategy could indicate a new way for utilizing livestock pollutants to create on-demand decontaminants.     

北京市4种不同污水处理系统中病原菌变化研究

采用定量PCR技术,对北京市4种不同污水处理系统中大肠杆菌、军团菌和沙门氏菌随工艺及四季的数量变化进行了追踪研究,以评估病原菌的去除效果及污水回用的健康风险.结果发现,大肠杆菌在夏季进水和出水中的浓度分别在107~108copies·m L-1和105copies·m L-1左右;G-A/O系统对大肠杆菌的去除率最高,平均去除率达99.88%.军团菌在4个污水处理系统中进水浓度为104~105copies·m L-1,出水浓度约为104copies·m L-1,其在剩余污泥样品中浓度较高,达到105~106copies·m L-1.沙门氏菌进水浓度较低,为102~103copies·m L-1,且其在多个工艺段样品中未检出.季节变化对于病原菌的去除具有较大影响.研究表明,大肠杆菌在各污水处理系统中均可检出,且其分布具有一定的季节性,夏季的进出水中浓度相对较高;而军团菌和沙门氏菌浓度在各工艺中则并未呈现出明显的季节性变化.G-A/O系统对3种细菌的整体去除效果最为稳定,去除率较高.大肠杆菌在污水处理厂的出水及剩余污泥中浓度仍然较高,此外,冬季出水中也能检测到沙门氏菌的存在,因此,污水处理厂的出水和污泥排放仍存在一定的生态和健康风险.     

Bacterial succession in epiphytic biofilms and deciduous layer sediments during Hydrilla verticillata decay: A field investigation

Submersed macrophytes decay is an important natural process and has important role in mass and energy flow in aquatic ecosystems. However, little is known about the dynamical changes in nutrients release and bacterial community during submersed macrophyte decay in natural environment. In this study, a field observation was conducted in a wetland dominated with Hydrilla verticillata for 36 days. Increase of H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde (MDA) content and decrease of soluble proteins concentration were detected in leaves during H. verticillata decay. Meanwhile, ammonium-N, soluble microbial products (SMP) and TOC concentration increased in overlying water. According to bacterial 16S rRNA Illumina sequencing analysis, the Shannon values were lower in epiphytic biofilms than deciduous layer sediments. The relative abundances of Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Actinobacteria were higher in epiphytic biofilms than in deciduous layer sediments (P < 0.05). Co-occurrence network analyses showed that a total of 578 and 845 pairs of correlations (|r| > 0.6) were identified from 122 and 112 genera in epiphytic biofilms and deciduous layer sediments, respectively. According to co-occurrence patterns, eight hubs were mainly from phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Parcubacteria in epiphytic biofilms; while 37 hubs from the 14 phyla (Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, et al.) were detected in deciduous layer sediments. Our results indicate that bacterial community in deciduous layer sediments was more susceptible than in epiphytic biofilms during decay process. These data highlight the role of microbial community in deciduous layer sediments on nutrients removal during H. verticillata decay and will provide useful information for wetland management.     

Advances in photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria: Development of photocatalysts and mechanisms

Photocatalysis has attracted worldwide attention due to its potential in solar energy conversion. As a “green” advanced oxidation technology, it has been extensively used for water disinfection and wastewater treatment. This article provides a review of the recent progress in solar energy-induced photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria, focusing on the development of highly efficient photocatalysts and their underlying mechanisms in bacterial inactivation. The photocatalysts are classified into TiO₂-based and non-TiO₂-based systems, as TiO₂ is the most investigated photocatalyst. The synthesis methods, modification strategies, bacterial disinfection activities and mechanisms of different types of photocatalysts are reviewed in detail. Emphasis is given to the modified TiO₂, including noble metal deposition, non-metal doping, dye sensitization and composite TiO₂, along with typical non-TiO₂-based photocatalysts for bacterial disinfection, including metal oxides, sulfides, bismuth metallates, graphene-based photocatalysts, carbon nitride-based photocatalysts and natural photocatalysts. A simple and versatile methodology by using a partition system combined with scavenging study is introduced to study the photocatalytic disinfection mechanisms in different photocatalytic systems. This review summarizes the current state of the work on photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria, and is expected to offer useful insights for the future development in the field.     

一株有脱硫性能细菌的分离与特性研究

报道了从含硫土壤中分离到的一株无机化能自养型的脱氮硫杆菌(Thiobacillus denitrificans)菌株L_1。该菌细胞呈球杆状,0.3～0.5μm×1.0～1.5μm,单根极生鞭毛运动,革兰氏染色阴性。可利用硫代硫酸盐、硫酸盐作为能源,在细胞内、外储存硫粒,在好气或厌气条件下能以硝酸盐为氮源,最适生长pH6.0。在约1％接种量时,该菌7d可使硫代硫酸盐和硫酸盐的脱硫率,分别达到34.37％和19.79％。     

城市污泥厌氧消化和脱水工艺对肠道病原菌的杀灭效应

运用最大或然数(MPN)培养法和定量PCR(qPCR)技术对不同城市污水处理厂污泥厌氧消化处理和脱水处理前后,污泥中埃希氏大肠杆菌(E.coli)、沙门氏菌(Salmonellaspp.)和志贺氏菌(Shigellaspp.)含量的变化进行了研究.MPN检测结果表明,污泥中大肠杆菌、沙门氏菌和志贺氏菌数量经厌氧消化处理后明显下降,平均下降2～5个数量级,但qPCR检测结果显示,种病原菌平均下降1～2个数量级.脱水处理3后,污泥中的肠道病原菌含量基本没有变化,没有发生脱水后再生长现象.大肠杆菌、沙门氏菌和志贺氏菌含量分别在104～107、104～105和103～105MPN·g-1(以污泥干重计)之间.MPN和qPCR检测结果之间的差异性显示厌氧消化会造成肠道病原菌的有活性但不可培养状态(VBNC),同时也提示应用传统的培养检测方法检测病原菌含量和评定污泥排放的生物安全性时需慎重.