Cross Joseph, Honnavar Prasanna, Quidet Xegfred Lou T, Butler Travis, Shivaprasad Aparna, Christian Linroy
Department of Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Genetics, American University of Antigua College of Medicine, St. Johns 1451, Antigua and Barbuda.
Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Microorganisms. 2023 Dec 8;11(12):2945. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11122945.
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and the technique of DNA metabarcoding have provided more efficient and comprehensive options for testing water quality compared to traditional methods. Recent studies have shown the efficacy of DNA metabarcoding in characterizing the bacterial microbiomes of varied sources of drinking water, including rivers, reservoirs, wells, tanks, and lakes. We asked whether DNA metabarcoding could be used to characterize the microbiome of different private sources of stored freshwater on the Caribbean Island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. Two replicate water samples were obtained from three different private residential sources in Antigua: a well, an above-ground tank, and a cistern. The bacterial microbiomes of different freshwater sources were assessed using 16S rRNA metabarcoding. We measured both alpha diversity (species diversity within a sample) and beta diversity (species diversity across samples) and conducted a taxonomic analysis. We also looked for the presence of potentially pathogenic species. Major differences were found in the microbiome composition and relative abundances depending on the water source. A lower alpha diversity was observed in the cistern sample compared to the others, and distinct differences in the microbiome composition and relative abundance were noted between the samples. Notably, pathogenic species, or genera known to harbor such species, were detected in all the samples. We conclude that DNA metabarcoding can provide an effective and comprehensive assessment of drinking water quality and has the potential to identify pathogenic species overlooked using traditional methods. This method also shows promise for tracing the source of disease outbreaks due to waterborne microorganisms. This is the first study from small island countries in the Caribbean where metabarcoding has been applied for assessing freshwater water quality.
与传统方法相比，下一代测序（NGS）和DNA宏条形码技术为水质检测提供了更高效、更全面的选择。最近的研究表明，DNA宏条形码技术在表征各种饮用水源（包括河流、水库、水井、水箱和湖泊）的细菌微生物群落方面具有有效性。我们想知道DNA宏条形码技术是否可用于表征加勒比海岛国安提瓜和巴布达不同私人储存淡水源的微生物群落。从安提瓜的三个不同私人住宅水源采集了两份重复水样：一口井、一个地上水箱和一个蓄水池。使用16S rRNA宏条形码技术评估不同淡水源的细菌微生物群落。我们测量了α多样性（样本内的物种多样性）和β多样性（样本间的物种多样性），并进行了分类分析。我们还查找了潜在致病物种的存在情况。根据水源不同，在微生物群落组成和相对丰度方面发现了主要差异。与其他样本相比，蓄水池样本中的α多样性较低，并且样本之间在微生物群落组成和相对丰度方面存在明显差异。值得注意的是，在所有样本中都检测到了致病物种或已知含有此类物种的属。我们得出结论，DNA宏条形码技术可以对饮用水质量进行有效且全面的评估，并且有可能识别出使用传统方法被忽视的致病物种。这种方法在追踪由水传播微生物引起的疾病爆发源头方面也显示出了前景。这是加勒比地区小岛屿国家首次将宏条形码技术应用于评估淡水资源质量的研究。
