Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Environ Sci Technol. 2023 Apr 18;57(15):6108-6118. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.2c09139. Epub 2023 Apr 7.
Drinking water systems host a wide range of microorganisms essential for biosafety. However, one major group of waterborne pathogens, protozoa, is relatively neglected compared to bacteria and other microorganisms. Until now, little is known about the growth and fate of protozoa and their associated bacteria in drinking water systems. In this study, we aim to investigate how drinking water treatment affects the growth and fate of protozoa and their associated bacteria in a subtropical megacity. The results showed that viable protozoa were prevalent in the city's tap water, and amoebae were the major component of tap water protozoa. In addition, protozoan-associated bacteria contained many potential pathogens and were primarily enriched in amoeba hosts. Furthermore, this study showed that current drinking water disinfection methods have little effect on protozoa and their associated bacteria. Besides, ultrafiltration membranes unexpectedly served as an ideal growth surface for amoebae in drinking water systems, and they could significantly promote the growth of amoeba-associated bacteria. In conclusion, this study shows that viable protozoa and their associated bacteria are prevalent in tap water, which may present an emerging health risk in drinking water biosafety.
饮用水系统中存在着大量对生物安全至关重要的微生物。然而，与细菌和其他微生物相比，一种主要的水生病原体——原生动物相对被忽视了。到目前为止，人们对饮用水系统中原生动物及其相关细菌的生长和命运知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们旨在调查饮用水处理如何影响亚热带大城市中原生动物及其相关细菌的生长和命运。结果表明，有活力的原生动物普遍存在于城市自来水中，并且变形虫是自来水中原生动物的主要组成部分。此外，原生动物相关细菌包含许多潜在的病原体，并且主要富集在变形虫宿主中。此外，本研究表明，目前的饮用水消毒方法对原生动物及其相关细菌几乎没有影响。超滤膜在饮用水系统中出乎意料地成为变形虫的理想生长表面，并且可以显著促进变形虫相关细菌的生长。总之，本研究表明，有活力的原生动物及其相关细菌普遍存在于自来水中，这可能给饮用水生物安全带来新的健康风险。
