Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Food Environ Virol. 2021 Mar;13(1):117-125. doi: 10.1007/s12560-020-09458-6. Epub 2021 Jan 11.
Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a plant pathogenic virus belonging to the family Virgoviridae, has been proposed as a potential viral indicator for human faecal pollution in aquatic environments. The present study investigated the occurrence, amount and diversity of PMMoV in water environments in Italy. A total of 254 water samples, collected between 2017 and 2019 from different types of water, were analysed. In detail, 92 raw sewage, 32 treated sewage, 16 river samples, 9 estuarine waters, 20 bathing waters, 67 groundwater samples and 18 drinking waters were tested. PMMoV was detected in 79% and 75% of untreated and treated sewage samples, respectively, 75% of river samples, 67% and 25% of estuarine and bathing waters and 13% of groundwater samples. No positive was detected in drinking water. The geometric mean of viral concentrations (genome copies/L) was ranked as follows: raw sewage (2.2 × 10) > treated sewage (2.9 × 10) > river waters (6.1 × 10) > estuarine waters (4.8 × 10) > bathing waters (8.5 × 10) > groundwater (5.9 × 10). A statistically significant variation of viral loads could be observed between raw and treated sewage and between these and all the other water matrices. PMMoV occurrence and viral loads did not display seasonal variation in raw sewage nor correlation with faecal indicator bacteria in marine waters and groundwater. This study represents the first report on the occurrence and quantification PMMoV in different water environments in Italy. Further studies are required to evaluate the suitability of PMMoV as a viral indicator for human faecal pollution and for viral pathogens in waters.
胡椒轻斑驳病毒（PMMoV）是一种植物病原病毒，属于病毒科，被提议作为水生环境中人类粪便污染的潜在病毒指标。本研究调查了意大利水环境中 PMMoV 的发生、数量和多样性。总共分析了 254 个水样，这些水样是在 2017 年至 2019 年期间从不同类型的水中采集的。具体而言，检测了 92 个原始污水、32 个处理污水、16 个河流样本、9 个河口水样、20 个浴场水样、67 个地下水样本和 18 个饮用水样本。未处理和处理后的污水样本中分别有 79%和 75%检测到 PMMoV，河流样本中有 75%，河口和浴场水样中有 67%和 25%，地下水样本中有 13%。饮用水中未检测到阳性。病毒浓度（基因组拷贝/L）的几何平均值排序如下：原始污水（2.2×10）>处理污水（2.9×10）>河流（6.1×10）>河口（4.8×10）>浴场（8.5×10）>地下水（5.9×10）。可以观察到原始污水和处理污水之间以及这些污水与所有其他水基质之间的病毒负荷存在统计学上的显著差异。原始污水中 PMMoV 的发生和病毒负荷没有季节性变化，也与海洋和地下水中的粪便指示菌无关。本研究是意大利首次报道不同水环境污染中 PMMoV 的发生和定量情况。需要进一步的研究来评估 PMMoV 作为人类粪便污染和水中病毒病原体的病毒指标的适用性。
