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Moreno Y, Moreno-Mesonero L, Soler P, Zornoza A, Soriano A. Influence of drinking water biofilm microbiome on water quality: Insights from a real-scale distribution system. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 921:171086. [PMID: 38382601 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Biofilms, constituting over 95 % of the biomass in drinking water distribution systems, form an ecosystem impacting both the aesthetic and microbiological quality of water. This study investigates the microbiome of biofilms within a real-scale drinking water distribution system in eastern Spain, utilizing amplicon-based metagenomics. Forty-one biofilm samples underwent processing and sequencing to analyze both bacterial and eukaryotic microbiomes, with an assessment of active biomass. Genus-level analysis revealed considerable heterogeneity, with Desulfovibrio, Ralstonia, Bradyrhizobium, Methylocystis, and Bacillus identified as predominant genera. Notably, bacteria associated with corrosion processes, including Desulfovibrio, Sulfuricella, Hyphomicrobium, and Methylobacterium, were prevalent. Potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Helicobacter, Pseudomonas, and Legionella were also detected. Among protozoa, Opisthokonta and Archaeplastida were the most abundant groups in biofilm samples, with potential pathogenic eukaryotes (Acanthamoeba, Naegleria, Blastocystis) identified. Interestingly, no direct correlation between microbiota composition and pipe materials was observed. The study suggests that the usual concentration of free chlorine in bulk water proved insufficient to prevent the presence of undesirable bacteria and protozoa in biofilms, which exhibited a high concentration of active biomass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda Moreno
- Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Laura Moreno-Mesonero
- Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain
| | - Patricia Soler
- Empresa Mixta Valenciana de Aguas, S.A. (EMIVASA), Av. del Regne de València, 28, 46005, Valencia, Spain
| | - Andrés Zornoza
- Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain; H2OCITIES, SL, Arte Mayor de la Seda, 15, 46950 Xirivella, Valencia, Spain
| | - Adela Soriano
- Empresa Mixta Valenciana de Aguas, S.A. (EMIVASA), Av. del Regne de València, 28, 46005, Valencia, Spain
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Cavallaro A, Rhoads WJ, Sylvestre É, Marti T, Walser JC, Hammes F. Legionella relative abundance in shower hose biofilms is associated with specific microbiome members. FEMS MICROBES 2023; 4:xtad016. [PMID: 37705999 PMCID: PMC10496943 DOI: 10.1093/femsmc/xtad016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Legionella are natural inhabitants of building plumbing biofilms, where interactions with other microorganisms influence their survival, proliferation, and death. Here, we investigated the associations of Legionella with bacterial and eukaryotic microbiomes in biofilm samples extracted from 85 shower hoses of a multiunit residential building. Legionella spp. relative abundance in the biofilms ranged between 0-7.8%, of which only 0-0.46% was L. pneumophila. Our data suggest that some microbiome members were associated with high (e.g. Chthonomonas, Vrihiamoeba) or low (e.g. Aquabacterium, Vannella) Legionella relative abundance. The correlations of the different Legionella variants (30 Zero-Radius OTUs detected) showed distinct patterns, suggesting separate ecological niches occupied by different Legionella species. This study provides insights into the ecology of Legionella with respect to: (i) the colonization of a high number of real shower hoses biofilm samples; (ii) the ecological meaning of associations between Legionella and co-occurring bacterial/eukaryotic organisms; (iii) critical points and future directions of microbial-interaction-based-ecological-investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Cavallaro
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - William J Rhoads
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Émile Sylvestre
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Thierry Marti
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Claude Walser
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Genetic Diversity Centre (GDC), ETH Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Frederik Hammes
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
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Thanigaivel S, Vickram S, Dey N, Jeyanthi P, Subbaiya R, Kim W, Govarthanan M, Karmegam N. Ecological disturbances and abundance of anthropogenic pollutants in the aquatic ecosystem: Critical review of impact assessment on the aquatic animals. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 313:137475. [PMID: 36528154 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic toxins are discharged into the environment and distributed through a variety of environmental matrices. Trace contaminant detection and analysis has advanced dramatically in recent decades, necessitating further specialized technique development. These pollutants can be mobile and persistent in small amounts in the environment, and ecological receptors will interact with it. Despite the fact that few researches have been undertaken on invertebrate exposure, accumulation, and biological implications, it is apparent that a wide range of pollutants can accumulate in the tissues of aquatic insects, earthworms, amphipod crustaceans, and mollusks. Due to long-term stability during long-distance transit, a number of chemical and microbiological agents that were not previously deemed pollutants have been found in various environmental compartments. The uptake of such pollutants by the aquatic organism is done through the process of bioaccumulation when dangerous compounds accumulate in living beings while biomagnification is the process of a pollutant becoming more hazardous as it moves up the trophic chain. Organic and metal pollution harms animals of every species studied so far, from bacteria to phyla in between. The environmental protection agency says these poisons harm humans as well as a variety of aquatic organisms when the water quality is sacrificed in typical wastewater treatment systems. Contrary to popular belief, treated effluents discharged into aquatic bodies contain considerable levels of Anthropogenic contaminants. This evolution necessitates a more robust and recent advancement in the field of remediation and their techniques to completely discharge the various organic and inorganic contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sundaram Thanigaivel
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science & Humanities, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603 203, India
| | - Sundaram Vickram
- Department of Biotechnology, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha Nagar, Thandalam, Chennai, 602 105, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Nibedita Dey
- Department of Biotechnology, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha Nagar, Thandalam, Chennai, 602 105, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Palanivelu Jeyanthi
- Department of Biotechnology, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, 600 062, India
| | - Ramasamy Subbaiya
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, The Copperbelt University, Riverside, Jambo Drive, P O Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia
| | - Woong Kim
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea.
| | - Muthusamy Govarthanan
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Natchimuthu Karmegam
- PG and Research Department of Botany, Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem, 636 007, Tamil Nadu, India.
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Onggowarsito C, Feng A, Mao S, Nguyen LN, Xu J, Fu Q. Water Harvesting Strategies through Solar Steam Generator Systems. CHEMSUSCHEM 2022; 15:e202201543. [PMID: 36163592 PMCID: PMC10098618 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202201543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Solar steam generator (SSG) systems have attracted increasing attention, owing to its simple manufacturing, material abundance, cost-effectiveness, and environmentally friendly freshwater production. This system relies on photothermic materials and water absorbing substrates for a clean continuous distillation process. To optimize this process, there are factors that are needed to be considered such as selection of solar absorber and water absorbent materials, followed by micro/macro-structural system design for efficient water evaporation, floating, and filtration capability. In this contribution, we highlight the general interfacial SSG concept, review and compare recent progresses of different SSG systems, as well as discuss important factors on performance optimization. Furthermore, unaddressed challenges such as SSG's cost to performance ratio, filtration of untreatable micropollutants/microorganisms, and the need of standardization testing will be discussed to further advance future SSG studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey Onggowarsito
- Centre for Technology in Water and WastewaterSchool of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Technology Sydney15 BroadwayUltimoNSW 2007Australia
| | - An Feng
- Centre for Technology in Water and WastewaterSchool of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Technology Sydney15 BroadwayUltimoNSW 2007Australia
| | - Shudi Mao
- Centre for Technology in Water and WastewaterSchool of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Technology Sydney15 BroadwayUltimoNSW 2007Australia
| | - Luong Ngoc Nguyen
- Centre for Technology in Water and WastewaterSchool of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Technology Sydney15 BroadwayUltimoNSW 2007Australia
| | - Jiangtao Xu
- Centre for Advanced Macromolecular DesignSchool of Chemical EngineeringUNSW InstitutionSydneyNSW 2052Australia
| | - Qiang Fu
- Centre for Technology in Water and WastewaterSchool of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Technology Sydney15 BroadwayUltimoNSW 2007Australia
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Pronk LJU, Medema MH. Whokaryote: distinguishing eukaryotic and prokaryotic contigs in metagenomes based on gene structure. Microb Genom 2022; 8. [PMID: 35503723 PMCID: PMC9465069 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Metagenomics has become a prominent technology to study the functional potential of all organisms in a microbial community. Most studies focus on the bacterial content of these communities, while ignoring eukaryotic microbes. Indeed, many metagenomics analysis pipelines silently assume that all contigs in a metagenome are prokaryotic, likely resulting in less accurate annotation of eukaryotes in metagenomes. Early detection of eukaryotic contigs allows for eukaryote-specific gene prediction and functional annotation. Here, we developed a classifier that distinguishes eukaryotic from prokaryotic contigs based on foundational differences between these taxa in terms of gene structure. We first developed Whokaryote, a random forest classifier that uses intergenic distance, gene density and gene length as the most important features. We show that, with an estimated recall, precision and accuracy of 94, 96 and 95 %, respectively, this classifier with features grounded in biology can perform almost as well as the classifiers EukRep and Tiara, which use k-mer frequencies as features. By retraining our classifier with Tiara predictions as an additional feature, the weaknesses of both types of classifiers are compensated; the result is Whokaryote+Tiara, an enhanced classifier that outperforms all individual classifiers, with an F1 score of 0.99 for both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, while still being fast. In a reanalysis of metagenome data from a disease-suppressive plant endospheric microbial community, we show how using Whokaryote+Tiara to select contigs for eukaryotic gene prediction facilitates the discovery of several biosynthetic gene clusters that were missed in the original study. Whokaryote (+Tiara) is wrapped in an easily installable package and is freely available from https://github.com/LottePronk/whokaryote.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotte J U Pronk
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marnix H Medema
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Darré M, Vicente AR, Cisneros-Zevallos L, Artés-Hernández F. Postharvest Ultraviolet Radiation in Fruit and Vegetables: Applications and Factors Modulating Its Efficacy on Bioactive Compounds and Microbial Growth. Foods 2022; 11:foods11050653. [PMID: 35267286 PMCID: PMC8909097 DOI: 10.3390/foods11050653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been considered a deleterious agent that living organisms must avoid. However, many of the acclimation changes elicited by UV induce a wide range of positive effects in plant physiology through the elicitation of secondary antioxidant metabolites and natural defenses. Therefore, this fact has changed the original UV conception as a germicide and potentially damaging agent, leading to the concept that it is worthy of application in harvested commodities to take advantage of its beneficial responses. Four decades have already passed since postharvest UV radiation applications began to be studied. During this time, UV treatments have been successfully evaluated for different purposes, including the selection of raw materials, the control of postharvest diseases and human pathogens, the elicitation of nutraceutical compounds, the modulation of ripening and senescence, and the induction of cross-stress tolerance. Besides the microbicide use of UV radiation, the effect that has received most attention is the elicitation of bioactive compounds as a defense mechanism. UV treatments have been shown to induce the accumulation of phytochemicals, including ascorbic acid, carotenoids, glucosinolates, and, more frequently, phenolic compounds. The nature and extent of this elicitation have been reported to depend on several factors, including the product type, maturity, cultivar, UV spectral region, dose, intensity, and radiation exposure pattern. Even though in recent years we have greatly increased our understanding of UV technology, some major issues still need to be addressed. These include defining the operational conditions to maximize UV radiation efficacy, reducing treatment times, and ensuring even radiation exposure, especially under realistic processing conditions. This will make UV treatments move beyond their status as an emerging technology and boost their adoption by industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magalí Darré
- LIPA—Laboratorio de Investigación en Productos Agroindustriales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 60 y 119 s/n, La Plata CP 1900, Argentina;
| | - Ariel Roberto Vicente
- LIPA—Laboratorio de Investigación en Productos Agroindustriales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 60 y 119 s/n, La Plata CP 1900, Argentina;
- Correspondence:
| | - Luis Cisneros-Zevallos
- Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA;
| | - Francisco Artés-Hernández
- Postharvest and Refrigeration Group, Department of Agronomical Engineering & Institute of Plant Biotechnology, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30203 Murcia, Spain;
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