Bacterial diversity and predicted enzymatic function in a multipurpose surface water system – from wastewater effluent discharges to drinking water production

Environmental Microbiome

Noora Perkola¹  Timo Huttula²  Asko Vepsäläinen³  Sallamaari Siponen³  Anna-Maria Hokajärvi³  Ananda Tiwari³  Balamuralikrishna Jayaprakash³  Ilkka T. Miettinen³  Tarja Pitkänen⁴  Ari Kauppinen⁵  Hodon Ryu⁶  Jorge Santo Domingo⁶  Michael Elk⁷  Osmo Puurunen⁸  Aki Artimo⁸ 

[1] Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Latokartanonkaari 11, 00790, Helsinki, Finland;Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Survontie 9 A, Jyväskylä, Finland;Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 95, 70701, Kuopio, Finland;Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 95, 70701, Kuopio, Finland;Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 95, 70701, Kuopio, Finland;Present address: Finnish Food Authority, Laboratory and Research Division, Virology Unit, Helsinki, Finland;Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH, USA;Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH, USA;Pegasus Technical Services, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, USA;Turku Region Water Ltd., Turku, Finland;

关键词: Bacterial communities;    Sewage effluent;    Surface water;    Seasonal effects;    Predicted biological function;    16S rRNA amplicon sequencing;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40793-021-00379-w

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRivers and lakes are used for multiple purposes such as for drinking water (DW) production, recreation, and as recipients of wastewater from various sources. The deterioration of surface water quality with wastewater is well-known, but less is known about the bacterial community dynamics in the affected surface waters. Understanding the bacterial community characteristics —from the source of contamination, through the watershed to the DW production process—may help safeguard human health and the environment.ResultsThe spatial and seasonal dynamics of bacterial communities, their predicted functions, and potential health-related bacterial (PHRB) reads within the Kokemäenjoki River watershed in southwest Finland were analyzed with the 16S rRNA-gene amplicon sequencing method. Water samples were collected from various sampling points of the watershed, from its major pollution sources (sewage influent and effluent, industrial effluent, mine runoff) and different stages of the DW treatment process (pre-treatment, groundwater observation well, DW production well) by using the river water as raw water with an artificial groundwater recharge (AGR).The beta-diversity analysis revealed that bacterial communities were highly varied among sample groups (R = 0.92, p <  0.001, ANOSIM). The species richness and evenness indices were highest in surface water (Chao1; 920 ± 10) among sample groups and gradually decreased during the DW treatment process (DW production well; Chao1: 320 ± 20). Although the phylum Proteobacteria was omnipresent, its relative abundance was higher in sewage and industrial effluents (66–80%) than in surface water (55%). Phyla Firmicutes and Fusobacteria were only detected in sewage samples. Actinobacteria was more abundant in the surface water (≥13%) than in other groups (≤3%). Acidobacteria was more abundant in the DW treatment process (≥13%) than in others (≤2%). In total, the share of PHRB reads was higher in sewage and surface water than in the DW treatment samples. The seasonal effect in bacterial communities was observed only on surface water samples, with the lowest diversity during summer.ConclusionsThe low bacterial diversity and absence of PHRB read in the DW samples indicate AGR can produce biologically stable and microbiologically safe drinking water. Furthermore, the significantly different bacterial communities at the pollution sources compared to surface water and DW samples highlight the importance of effective wastewater treatment for protecting the environment and human health.

【 授权许可】

CC BY