School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
J Hazard Mater. 2021 Sep 5;417:126006. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126006. Epub 2021 May 11.
In drinking water systems, waterborne pathogens constitute a significant threat. While most studies focus on a single infectious agent, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protists, the effect of interactions among these infectious agents on disinfection treatment has largely been ignored. In this study, we find that dormant amoeba spores, a frequently found protist in drinking water systems, can protect their intracellular bacteria from drinking water disinfection. Bacteria-containing amoeba spores were constructed and treated with various disinfection techniques (Cl, ClO and UV). The three disinfection methods could kill the bacteria alone efficiently (6-log inactivation). However, the inactivation efficiency of bacteria that hid within amoeba spore was significantly inhibited (2-3-log inactivation). We also found that inactivated amoeba spores can still protect their intracellular bacteria. This study provides direct evidence that viable and inactivated amoeba spores can protect their hitchhiking bacteria from disinfection treatment, which is crucial for future decision-making about the dosage for sufficient bacterial disinfection in drinking water systems.
在饮用水系统中，水源性病原体构成了重大威胁。虽然大多数研究都集中在单一的传染病原体上，如细菌、真菌、病毒和原生动物，但这些传染病原体之间相互作用对消毒处理的影响在很大程度上被忽视了。在这项研究中，我们发现休眠的变形虫孢子（一种在饮用水系统中经常发现的原生动物）可以保护其细胞内的细菌免受饮用水消毒的影响。构建了含有细菌的变形虫孢子，并使用各种消毒技术（Cl、ClO 和 UV）进行处理。这三种消毒方法可以有效地单独杀死细菌（6 对数级灭活）。然而，隐藏在变形虫孢子内的细菌的灭活效率却受到显著抑制（2-3 对数级灭活）。我们还发现，失活的变形虫孢子仍然可以保护其细胞内的细菌。这项研究提供了直接证据，证明活的和失活的变形虫孢子可以保护其搭便车的细菌免受消毒处理，这对于未来在饮用水系统中决定足够的细菌消毒剂量的决策至关重要。
