Antiviral Potential of Selected Starter Cultures,Bacteriocins and d,l-Lactic Acid

The antiviral potential of selected bacteria species [lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and micrococcaceae] was examined. By this, the effect of their cell-free supernatants as well as of certain species-related metabolites (sakacin A, nisin, and lactic acid) was investigated on different viruses after exposure at 24 °C for 3 days. Viruses were incubated with supernatants and metabolites in a dilution ratio of 1:10. Data for antiviral effects towards murine norovirus S99 (MNV), influenza A virus A/WSN/33 (H1N1), Newcastle disease virus Montana (NDV) and feline herpesvirus KS 285 (FHV) were generated in vitro simulating pH and temperature conditions according to raw sausage fermentations. Investigations showed no antiviral effect of sakacin A and nisin on MNV, H1N1, FHV and NDV. Furthermore, the antiviral potential of d,l-lactic acid was determined for MNV and H1N1. At raw sausage-related pH values (5.0–6.2) it could be shown that the virus titre for MNV and H1N1 was reduced by a maximum of 3.25 log and 2.5 log units, respectively. In addition, 29 culture supernatants of different bacteria species, mainly LAB and staphylococci, were tested for their antiviral activity against MNV. Only the cell-free supernatant of a Lb. curvatus strain showed a higher virus titre reduction of MNV by 1.25 log units compared to the control. Further studies on the characterisation of this cell-free supernatant were carried out, however, the antiviral substance could not be identified so far.     

聚丁二酸丁二醇酯生物降解酶及其催化性能研究

聚丁二酸丁二醇酯(PBS)在微生物存在条件下,可降解为低分子量的小分子。文章以实验室自行分离的、能有效降解PBS的菌株ZM-P1为出发菌株进行PBS的降解研究,对降解液中的解聚酶进行分离纯化,研究其生化性质及催化性能。研究结果表明:所得蛋白经过SDS-PAGE电泳鉴定为脂肪酶,该脂肪酶最适温度为60℃,在30~60℃内趋于稳定;其最适pH为9.0,pH 6~9范围内酶的活性稳定;Mg2+对该脂肪酶有较强的促进作用,Zn2+和Na+对该脂肪酶影响较小,Ca2+和EDTA对其有明显抑制作用。降解后PBS数均分子量与重均分子量下降,结晶颗粒减小,热稳定也有所下降,说明该菌株对PBS有较为明显的降解效果。     

The occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in fluoropolymer raw materials and products made in China

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts, and related compounds were listed as new persistent organic pollutants by the Stockholm Convention in 2019. In this study, the occurrence of residues of PFOA and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in raw materials and fluoropolymer products from the Chinese fluoropolymer industries are reported for the first time. The PFOA concentrations in raw materials and fluoropolymer products were in the range of 6.7 to 1.1 × 10⁶ ng/g, and <MDL (method detection limit) to 5.3 × 10³ ng/g, respectively. Generally, the levels of PFOA in raw materials were higher than in products, implying that PFOA in the emulsion/dispersion resin could be partly removed during the polymerization or post-processing steps. By tracking a company's polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) production line, it was found that over a 5 year period, the residual levels of PFOA in emulsion samples declined from 1.1 × 10⁶ to 28.4 ng/g, indicating that the contamination of PFOA in fluoropolymer products from production source gradually decreased after its use had been discontinued. High concentrations of HFPO-TrA (2.7 × 10⁵ to 8.2 × 10⁵ ng/g) were detected in some emulsion samples indicating this alternative has been widely applied in fluoropolymer manufacturing in China.     

产生物表面活性剂耐盐菌的筛选鉴定及其对石油污染盐渍化土壤的修复作用

为得到高效产生物表面活性剂耐盐菌,从黄河三角洲石油污染盐渍化土壤中分离出41株细菌,经测定发酵液排油活性、表面张力和乳化值（EI24）,得到1株高效产生物表面活性剂耐盐菌BF40.通过形态、生理生化特征和16S rDNA序列分析,确定该菌为沙雷氏菌（Serratia sp.）.通过液体培养试验,研究了BF40的耐盐特性和降解原油能力,并通过室内土壤培养试验研究了BF40及其产生的生物表面活性剂对石油污染盐渍化土壤的修复作用.结果表明,在含5~70 g·L^-1NaCl液体培养基中BF40生长良好,属中度耐盐菌.BF40能有效利用原油,在含10 g·L^-1NaCl液体培养基中培养7d,原油降解率达到56.7%.添加BF40产生的生物表面活性剂或接入BF40能明显促进盐渍化土壤石油烃的降解,修复60 d,土壤石油去除率与对照相比分别提高了24.6%和13.4%.接种BF40能降低土壤溶液表面张力,明显提高土壤脱氢酶活性,更能有效促进沥青质降解.添加生物表面活性剂土壤脱氢酶活性与对照相比没有显著差异,但更能有效降低土壤溶液表面张力,促进饱和烃降解,表明接种BF40和添加生物表面活性剂可能对促进石油污染盐渍化土壤的生物修复存在不同作用机制.     

利用DGGE-菌落原位杂交法分离土壤中精喹禾灵降解菌

从自然环境中分离到的可降解农药的土著微生物,因其对环境的友好性及原位修复的可行性,受到了高度关注.为从土壤中筛选精喹禾灵降解菌株,首先利用PCR-DGGE技术分析了除草剂精喹禾灵胁迫下土壤细菌群落结构及多样性的变化.结果表明,添加精喹禾灵后,土壤细菌群落结构发生了明显的改变.精喹禾灵使细菌多样性呈现出增加-减少-增加的变化趋势,其中第9 d变化最大,后期趋于稳定.根据DGGE图谱条带的测序结果推断,Pseudomonas、Massilia、Burkholderia等属中的细菌对精喹禾灵具有耐受性或降解潜力,这些微生物类群可作为减少农药残留的土著微生物资源进行分离筛选.根据条带的测序结果,合成了地高辛(Digoxigenin)标记的探针,并进行了菌落原位杂交,筛选到了3株具有降解潜力的菌株,其中L1可以利用精喹禾灵作为唯一碳源生长,经16S rRNA基因鉴定该菌株属于假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas sp.).利用高效液相色谱法测定了菌株L1在无机盐培养基中降解精喹禾灵的效果.结果表明,培养7 d后,精喹禾灵的含量减少了近50%,且随着精喹禾灵含量的降低,L1菌体数量增加,证实了菌株L1具有降解精喹禾灵的能力.这一结果为今后研究菌株L1降解精喹禾灵的机制、功能基因等奠定了基础.     

Bioaugmentation and quorum sensing disruption as solutions to increase nitrate removal in sequencing batch reactors treating nitrate-rich wastewater

Bioaugmentation of denitrifying bacteria can serve as a promising technique to improve nutrient removal during wastewater treatment. While denitrification inhibition by bacterial quorum sensing (QS) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been indicated, the application of bacterial QS disruption to improve nitrate removal from wastewater has not been investigated. In this study, the effect of bioaugmentation of P. aeruginosa SD-1 on nitrate removal in sequencing batch reactors that treat nitrate rich wastewater was assessed. Additionally, the potential of a quorum sensing inhibitor (QSI) to improve denitrification following bacterial bioaugmentation was evaluated. Curcumin, a natural plant extract, was used as a QSI. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and initial nitrate concentration of the influent were 700±20 mg/L and 200±10 mg/L respectively, and their respective concentrations in the effluent were 56.9±3.2 mg/L and 9.0±3.2 mg/L. Thus, the results revealed that bioaugmentation of P. aeruginosa SD-1 resulted in an increased nitrate removal to 82%±1%. Further, nitrate was almost completely removed following the addition of the QSI, and activities of nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase increased by 88%±2% and 74%±2% respectively. The nitrogen mass balance indicated that aerobic denitrification was employed as the main pathway for nitrogen removal in the reactors. The results imply that bioaugmentation and modulation of QS in denitrifying bacteria, through the use of a QSI, can enhance nitrate removal during wastewater treatment.     

Primary and secondary organic aerosol in an urban/industrial site: Sources, health implications and the role of plastic enriched waste burning

PM10 samples were collected from an urban/industrial site nearby Athens, where uncontrolled burning activities occur. PAHs, monocarboxylic, dicarboxylic, hydroxycarboxylic and aromatic acids, tracers from BVOC oxidation, biomass burning tracers and bisphenol A were determined. PAH, monocarboxylic acids, biomass burning tracers and bisphenol A were increased during autumn/winter, while BSOA tracers, dicarboxylic- and hydroxycarboxylic acids during summer. Regarding aromatic acids, different sources and formation mechanisms were indicated as benzoic, phthalic and trimellitic acids were peaked during summer whereas p-toluic, isophthalic and terephthalic were more abundant during autumn/winter. The Benzo[a]pyrene-equivalent carcinogenic power, carcinogenic and mutagenic activities were calculated showing significant (p < 0.05) increases during the colder months. Palmitic, succinic and malic acids were the most abundant monocarboxylic, dicarboxylic and hydrocarboxylic acids during the entire sampling period. Isoprene oxidation was the most significant contributor to BSOA as the isoprene-SOA compounds were two times more abundant than the pinene-SOA (13.4 ± 12.3 and 6.1 ± 2.9 ng/m³, respectively). Ozone has significant impact on the formation of many studied compounds showing significant correlations with: isoprene-SOA (r = 0.77), hydrocarboxylic acids (r = 0.69), pinene-SOA (r = 0.63),dicarboxylic acids (r = 0.58), and the sum of phthalic, benzoic and trimellitic acids (r = 0.44). PCA demonstrated five factors that could explain sources including plastic enriched waste burning (30.8%), oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids (23.0%), vehicle missions and cooking (9.2%), biomass burning (7.7%) and oxidation of VOCs (5.8%). The results highlight the significant contribution of plastic waste uncontrolled burning to the overall air quality degradation.     

餐厨降解菌的生物特性研究

为了研究餐厨降解菌的生物特性,选取耐盐性、基质迁移性及其在餐厨降解中的酶活特性展开研究,以此来揭示各菌种在降解过程中的优势特性及其各自发挥的作用.结果表明,混合菌产酶优于单菌种;菌株在2.5%NaCl浓度下可正常生长,耐盐性排序为:博德特氏菌(Bordetella petrii)汉氏硝化细菌(Nitrobacter hamburgensis)螺旋巴克斯霉(Backusella circina),迁移性排序为:博德特氏菌(Bordetella petrii)汉氏硝化细菌(Nitrobacter hamburgensis)螺旋巴克斯霉(Backusella circina).综合来看,博德特氏菌在降解前期作用明显,蔗糖酶活后期保持稳定表明堆肥矿质化趋于稳定,脱氢酶和多酚氧化酶活在后期逐步降低并趋于稳定表明堆肥腐熟性良好且稳定.     

水中萘普生的紫外光降解机制及其产物毒性研究

以120 W汞灯为紫外光光源,通过活性氧物种(ROS)的淬灭实验和溶解氧(DO)浓度实验和发光菌毒性实验,对水中萘普生(NPX)的降解机制、反应动力学及其产物毒性进行了研究.结果表明,NPX的紫外光降解过程包括了直接光解和ROS参与的自敏化光解两个过程,同时.OH、1O2、O.2-的自敏化光解贡献率分别为0.1%、80.2%、35.7%;溶解氧浓度实验表明,溶解氧对萘普生的降解具有抑制作用,而且浓度越大,抑制效果越明显;发光菌毒性实验表明,萘普生光降解生成了具有较萘普生更高风险的中间产物.本研究中萘普生的所有光解实验过程均符合准一级动力学方程.     

Inactivation of Viruses and Bacteriophages as Models for Swine Hepatitis E Virus in Food Matrices

Hepatitis E virus has been recognised as a food-borne virus hazard in pork products, due to its zoonotic properties. This risk can be reduced by adequate treatment of the food to inactivate food-borne viruses. We used a spectrum of viruses and bacteriophages to evaluate the effect of three food treatments: high pressure processing (HPP), lactic acid (LA) and intense light pulse (ILP) treatments. On swine liver at 400 MPa for 10 min, HPP gave log₁₀ reductions of ≥4.2, ≥5.0 and 3.4 for feline calicivirus (FCV) 2280, FCV wildtype (wt) and murine norovirus 1 (MNV 1), respectively. Escherichia coli coliphage ?X174 displayed a lower reduction of 1.1, while Escherichia coli coliphage MS2 was unaffected. For ham at 600 MPa, the corresponding reductions were 4.1, 4.4, 2.9, 1.7 and 1.3 log₁₀. LA treatment at 2.2 M gave log₁₀ reductions in the viral spectrum of 0.29–2.1 for swine liver and 0.87–3.1 for ham, with ?X174 and MNV 1, respectively, as the most stable microorganisms. The ILP treatment gave log₁₀ reductions of 1.6–2.8 for swine liver, 0.97–2.2 for ham and 1.3–2.3 for sausage, at 15–60 J cm^?2, with MS2 as the most stable microorganism. The HPP treatment gave significantly (p < 0.05) greater virus reduction on swine liver than ham for the viruses at equivalent pressure/time combinations. For ILP treatment, reductions on swine liver were significantly (p < 0.05) greater than on ham for all microorganisms. The results presented here could be used in assessments of different strategies to protect consumers against virus contamination and in advice to food producers. Conservative model indicators for the pathogenic viruses could be suggested.     

共混塑料在海水中的光降解及海洋环境风险

共混塑料因其用途广泛且价格低廉,生产和使用量逐渐增加,然而共混塑料在海水中光降解及其海洋环境风险尚不明确.选取聚丙烯/热塑性淀粉共混塑料（PP/TPS）和聚乳酸/对苯二甲酸-己二酸丁二醇酯/热塑性淀粉共混塑料（PLA/PBAT/TPS）为研究对象,单一聚合物塑料聚丙烯（PP）和聚乳酸（PLA）作为对照,探究共混塑料在海水中光降解后微塑料（MPs）的形成和物理化学性质的变化.MPs的粒径分布显示,与PP和PLA相比,PP/TPS和PLA/PBAT/TPS光降解后容易产生尺寸更小的颗粒,主要原因是共混塑料机械性能和抗紫外线能力较差.共混塑料光降解后表面出现更多裂纹和褶皱,表面形貌发生明显变化,而PP和PLA变化不明显.ATR-FTIR光谱显示PP/TPS和PLA/PBAT/TPS光降解后热塑性淀粉（TPS）的特征峰减小,表明共混塑料的淀粉组分降解.C 1s光谱表明,老化共混塑料含有更少的—OH,进一步证实了TPS的光降解.以上结果表明PP/TPS和PLA/PBAT/TPS比PP和PLA光降解程度更高,从而产生更多小粒径MPs.综上所述,共混塑料可能比单一聚合物塑料对海洋环境风险更高,对共混塑料的生产和使用应谨慎.     

Phenol degradation in waters with high iodide level by layered double hydroxide-peroxodisulfate: Pathways and products

Recently, layered double hydroxide-peroxodisulfate (LDH-PDS) as an advanced oxidation system can effectively remove organics by the pathway of free radical. However, little has been known if there is a potential risk regarding the formation of high toxic iodine byproducts through another pathway when LDH-PDS is used in high iodide waters at coastal areas. Therefore, this study investigated phenol degradation pathways and transformation products to evaluate both removal mechanism and potential risk by LDH-PDS in high iodide waters. The results showed that in LDH-PDS system, with the degradation of PDS, phenol degraded till below detection limit in 1 hr in the presence of iodide, while PDS and phenol were hardly degraded in the absence of iodide, indicating iodide accelerated the transformation of PDS and the degradation of phenol. What is more, it reached the highest phenol removal efficiency under the condition of 100 mg/L LDH, 0.1 mmol/L PDS and 1.0 mmol/L iodide. In LDH-PDS system, iodide was rapidly oxidized by the highly active interlayer PDS, resulting in the formation of reactive iodine including hypoiodic acid, iodine and triiodide instead of free radicals, which contributed rapid degradation of phenol. However, unfortunately toxic iodophenols were detected. Specifically, 2-iodophenol and 4-iodophenol were formed firstly, afterwards 2,4-diiodophenol and 2,6-diiodophenol were produced, and finally iodophenols and diiodophenols gradually decreased and 2,4,6-Triiodophenol were produced. These results indicated that LDH-PDS should avoid to use in high iodide waters to prevent toxic iodine byproduct formation although iodide can accelerate phenol degradation.     

南海高效石油降解菌的筛选及降解特性研究

以南海10个采样点采集到的样品为研究材料,以石油降解率为筛选依据,初筛获得52株石油降解菌,从中进一步筛选出6株对石油烃有降解能力的细菌,通过16S rRNA序列分析对筛选得到的6株菌进行初步鉴定,并使用GC-MS内标法测定降解产物,对降解菌的降解特性进行进一步研究.结果表明,采用重量法筛选出来的6株细菌对石油的降解率为20%～55%.与Genbank中的16S rRNA基因序列BLAST对比结果显示,所筛选出的6株菌株中,3株菌株属于芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus),2株菌株属于假交替单胞菌属(Pseudoalteromonas),1株属于交替单胞菌属(Alteromonas).降解特性分析表明,所筛选6株菌的烷烃降解率均在40%以上,多环芳烃降解率均在70%以上,其中,菌株B08500m-3对石油中总烷烃和总芳香烃的降解效果较好,降解率分别为75%和87%.     

菌株HP3对溴胺酸的降解机理

通过正交试验,得到菌株HP3降解溴胺酸最佳条件为温度30℃,pH值7.0,摇床转速160r/min,培养基中不含NaCl有利于溴胺酸的降解.在此条件下,溴胺酸的降解遵从负指数模式.葡萄糖和硫酸铵的加入显著地提高菌体降解溴胺酸的速度.不同金属化合物对菌株HP3降解溴胺酸有不同程度的抑制作用,其中以HgCl₂和AgNO₃最显著.菌株HP3能降解化合物蒽醌、1,4,5,8-四羟基蒽醌和1-氨基蒽醌-2-磺酸钠,表明该菌株对底物的降解没有严格的专一性.溴胺酸经菌株HP3作用后吸收光谱发生明显变化.TOC分析表明,菌株HP3将溴胺酸的蒽醌环破坏后利用其中的一部分有机碳.液相色谱检测有中间产物邻苯二甲酸生成.溴胺酸降解终产物分子量为289和290.     

给水管网中耐氯分枝杆菌的灭活特性及机制研究

近年来,在饮用水管网中检测到耐受消毒剂的微生物,对于饮用水安全造成威胁.课题组由南方某城市自来水管网中分离出1株耐氯的产黏液分枝杆菌(Mycobacteria mucogenicum),并对其灭活特性和耐氯机制进行了研究.使用自由氯、一氯胺和二氧化氯对其进行消毒实验,测定CT值.99.9%灭活产黏液分枝杆菌时,自由氯的CT值为(76.25±47.55)mg·min·L-1,一氯胺为(1 396±382)mg·min·L-1,二氧化氯为(13.5±4.9)mg·min·L-1.采用透射电镜对产黏液分枝杆菌的消毒过程进行观察,发现消毒后细菌结构疏松,细胞器层次变得不清晰,核心肿胀溶解.产黏液分枝杆菌具有较好的疏水性,测定其表面疏水率为37.2%,远高于其他细菌,使得亲水性消毒剂不易进入细菌内部,是其耐受含氯消毒剂的原因之一.     

Effect of air-exposed biocathode on the performance of a Thauera-dominated membraneless single-chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC)

To investigate the effect of air-exposed biocathode(AEB) on the performance of singlechamber microbial fuel cell(SCMFC), wastewater quality, bioelectrochemical characteristics and the electrode biofilms were researched. It was demonstrated that exposing the biocathode to air was beneficial to nitrogen removal and current generation. In Test 1 of 95%AEB, removal rates of ammonia, total nitrogen(TN) and chemical oxygen demand(COD)reached 99.34% ± 0.11%, 99.34% ± 0.10% and 90.79% ± 0.12%, respectively. The nitrogen removal loading rates were 36.38 g N/m~3/day. Meanwhile, current density and power density obtained at 0.7 A/m3 and 104 m W/m~3 respectively. Further experiments on opencircuit(Test 2) and carbon source(Test 3) indicated that this high performance could be attributed to simultaneous biological nitrification/denitrification and aerobic denitrification, as well as bioelectrochemical denitrification. Results of community analysis demonstrated that both microbial community structures on the surface of the cathode and in the liquid of the chamber were different. The percentage of Thauera, identified as denitrifying bacteria, maintained at a high level of over 50% in water, but decreased gradually in the AEB. Moreover, the genus Nitrosomonas, Alishewanella, Arcobacter and Rheinheimera were significantly enriched in the AEB, which might contribute to both enhancement of nitrogen removal and electricity generation.     

Isolation and characterization of a thermophilic Bacillus shackletonii K5 from a biotrickling filter for the production of polyhydroxybutyrate

Polyhydroxyalkanoates（PHAs） are aliphatic polyesters accumulated intracellularly by both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. However, compared to the PHAs of Gramnegative bacteria, few endotoxins（lipopolysaccharides, LPS）, which would be co-purified with PHAs and cause immunogenic reactions, are found in the PHAs produced by Gram-positive bacteria. A thermophilic Gram-positive bacterium K5, which exhibited good growth and polyhydroxybutyrate（PHB）-accumulating ability, has been isolated and characterized from a biotrickling filter designed for the removal of NOx from flue gas in a coal-fired power plant in China. Based on the biochemical characterization and 16 S rRNA gene sequence（Genbank accession no. JX437933）, the strain K5 has been identified as Bacillus shackletonii, which has rarely been reported in the literature, and this report is the first time that B. shackletonii has been found to accumulate PHB. The strain K5 was able to utilize glucose as carbon source to synthesize PHB at a broad range of temperatures（from 35 to 50 °C）, and the ideal temperature was 45 °C. The strain K5 could effectively yield PHB of up to 69.9% of its cell dry weight（CDW）（2.28 g/L） in flask experiments employing glucose as carbon source at 45 °C, followed by 56.8% and 52.3% of its CDW when using sodium succinate and glycerol as carbon source, respectively. For batch cultivation, the strain K5 was able to produce PHB of up to 72.6% of its cell dry weight（9.76 g/L） employing glucose as carbon source at 45 °C and pH 7.0.     

菌株Cupriavidus sp. DT-1对液体和土壤中TCP的降解

采用液质联用（HPLC-MS）的方法检测菌株Cupriavidus sp.DT-1降解2-羟基吡啶（2-HP）的代谢产物.并用三亲结合、荧光定量PCR （q-PCR）方法评价降解菌对3,5,6-三氯-2-吡啶酚（TCP）污染土壤的修复效果.结果表明,菌株可以进一步降解2-HP,依次生成尼古丁蓝、马来酰胺酸和反丁烯二酸,直至转化成菌株DT-1生长的碳源.接种菌株DT-1对污染土壤中TCP的降解起到较大的促进作用,2组试验土壤中TCP （50mg/kg）降解率分别为94.4%和86.7%,未接种菌株的土壤中TCP降解率仅为20.4%和28.4%.带有绿色荧光蛋白基因gfp标记的菌株DT-1-gfp可在土壤中存活35d以上,并对TCP污染土壤的细菌群落丰度有显著的恢复作用.     

Temporal variation and sharing of antibiotic resistance genes between water and wild fish gut in a peri-urban river

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) as emergence contaminations have spread widely in the water environment. Wild fish may be recipients and communicators of ARGs in the water environment, however, the distribution and transmission of ARGs in the wild fish and relevant water environment were rarely reported. Here, we have profiled ARGs and bacterial communities in wild freshwater fish and relevant water in a peri-urban river using high-throughput qPCR and 16S rRNA gene sequence. A total of 80 and 220 unique ARG subtypes were identified in fish and water samples. Fish and water both showed significant ARG seasonal variations (P < 0.05). The highest absolute abundance of ARGs in fish and water occurred in summer (1.32 × 10⁹ copies per g, on average) and autumn (9.04 × 10⁶ copies per mL), respectively. In addition, the bipartite network analysis showed that 9 ARGs and 1 mobile genetic element continuously shared in fish and water. Furthermore, bacteria shared in fish and water were found to significantly correlate with shard ARGs. The findings demonstrate that bacteria and ARGs in fish and water could interconnect and ARGs might transfer between fish and water using bacteria as a spreading medium.     

The presence of Genogroup II Norovirus in Retail Shellfish from Seven Coastal Cities in China

Noroviruses (NoVs) are commonly occurring pathogens that cause gastroenteritis. Outbreaks of viral diseases have often been ascribed to the consumption of contaminated shellfish. Our objective was to evaluate the presence and contamination levels of NoV in shellfish sold at seafood markets in China. We tested 840 shellfish samples (Crassostrea gigas, Mytilus edulis, Azumapecten farreri, SinoNoVacula constricta, Scapharca subcrenata, Ruditapes philippinarum) that were collected from seven cities around the Yellow and Bohai Seas in China between December 2009 and November 2011. We used real-time RT-PCR to detect NoV in purified concentrates from the stomach and digestive diverticula of these shellfish. NoV was detected in 19.35 % (N = 155), 16.67 % (N = 114), 5.70 % (N = 158), 8.82 % (N = 136), 13.74 % (N = 131), and 16.44 % (N = 146) of oyster, mussel, scallop, razor clam, ark shell, and clam samples, respectively. The average detection rate was 13.33 % (112/840). Nucleotide sequencing of the NoV RT-PCR products demonstrated that all strains belonged to NoV genotype GII.12, except two that belonged to GI.3. More than 10² copies of the NoV genome were detected in 69 of 112 positive shellfish samples. Our results suggest that ~13 % of shellfish harbor NoV, and GII.12 NoV is the primary strain in shellfish purchased at markets in seven coastal cities in China.