Division of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Water Res. 2024 Aug 1;259:121873. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121873. Epub 2024 Jun 3.
Since stormwater conveys a variety of contaminants into water bodies, green infrastructure (GI) is increasingly being adopted as an on-site treatment solution in addition to controlling peak flows. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in microbial water quality of stormwater in watersheds retrofitted with GI vs. those without GI. Considering stormwater is recently recognized as a contributor to the antibiotic resistance (AR) threat, another goal of this study was to characterize changes in the microbiome and collection of AR genes (resistome) of urban stormwater with season, rainfall characteristics, and fecal contamination. MinION long-read sequencing was used to analyze stormwater microbiome and resistome from watersheds with and without GI in Columbus, Ohio, United States, over 18 months. We characterized fecal contamination in stormwater via culturing Escherichia coli and with molecular microbial source tracking (MST) to identify sources of fecal contamination. Overall, season and storm event (rainfall) characteristics had the strongest relationships with changes in the stormwater microbiome and resistome. We found no significant differences in microbial water quality or the microbiome of stormwater in watersheds with and without GI implemented. However, there were differences between the communities of microorganisms hosting antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in stormwater from watersheds with and without GI, indicating the potential sensitivity of AR bacteria to treatment. Stormwater was contaminated with high concentrations of human-associated fecal bacterial genes, and the ARG host bacterial community had considerable similarities to human feces/wastewater. We also identified 15 potential pathogens hosting ARGs in these stormwater resistome, including vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In summary, urban stormwater is highly contaminated and has a great potential to spread AR and microbial hazards to nearby environments. This study presents the most comprehensive analysis of stormwater microbiome and resistome to date, which is crucial to understanding the potential microbial risk from this matrix. This information can be used to guide future public health policy, stormwater reuse programs, and urban runoff treatment initiatives.
由于雨水将各种污染物输送到水体中，绿色基础设施（GI）除了控制峰值流量外，还越来越多地被用作现场处理解决方案。本研究的目的是确定经过 GI 改造的流域与未经 GI 改造的流域中雨水的微生物水质差异。考虑到雨水最近被认为是抗生素耐药性（AR）威胁的一个来源，本研究的另一个目标是描述城市雨水的微生物组和 AR 基因（抗药性组）随季节、降雨特征和粪便污染的变化。MinION 长读测序用于分析美国俄亥俄州哥伦布市有和没有 GI 的流域的雨水微生物组和抗药性组，时间跨度为 18 个月。我们通过培养大肠杆菌和分子微生物源追踪（MST）来描述雨水粪便污染，以确定粪便污染的来源。总体而言，季节和暴雨事件（降雨）特征与雨水微生物组和抗药性组的变化有最强的关系。我们发现，在实施和未实施 GI 的流域中，雨水的微生物水质或微生物组没有显著差异。然而，GI 实施与否的流域中，承载抗生素耐药基因（ARGs）的微生物群落之间存在差异，这表明 AR 细菌对抗生素处理的敏感性不同。雨水受到高浓度人类相关粪便细菌基因的污染，并且 ARG 宿主细菌群落与人类粪便/废水有很大的相似性。我们还在这些雨水抗药性组中鉴定出 15 种潜在的携带 ARGs 的病原体，包括万古霉素耐药粪肠球菌（VRE）和多药耐药铜绿假单胞菌。总之，城市雨水受到高度污染，并且具有将 AR 和微生物危害传播到附近环境的巨大潜力。本研究是迄今为止对雨水微生物组和抗药性组最全面的分析，对于了解该基质的潜在微生物风险至关重要。这些信息可用于指导未来的公共卫生政策、雨水再利用计划和城市径流处理倡议。
