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Microbial diversities (16S and 18S rDNA gene pyrosequencing) and environmental pathogens within drinking water biofilms grown on the common premise plumbing materials unplasticized polyvinylchloride and copper
Citation:
Buse, H., J. Lu, X. Lu, X. Mou, AND N. Ashbolt. Microbial diversities (16S and 18S rDNA gene pyrosequencing) and environmental pathogens within drinking water biofilms grown on the common premise plumbing materials unplasticized polyvinylchloride and copper. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 88(2):280-295, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this research was to identify both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial biofilm members on copper vs PVC premise pipe materials fed drinking water.
Description:
Drinking water (DW) biofilm communities influence the survival of opportunistic pathogens, e.g. Legionella pneumophila, via parasitization of free-living amoebae such as Acanthamoebae. Yet knowledge about the microbial composition of DW biofilms developed on common in-premise plumbing material is limited. This study characterized the microbial community within DW biofilms established on unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) and copper (Cu) surfaces and the impact of introducing L. pneumophila and A. polyphaga. Mature (> 1 y old) biofilms were developed on uPVC and Cu surfaces before inoculation with sterilized DW (control, Con), L. pneumophila (Lp), or L. pneumophila & A. polyphaga (LpAp) and collected at 0-4 mo post inoculation. Microbial composition was analyzed via 16S and 18S rDNA pyrosequencing, where 220,117 & 267,368 16S rDNA, and 182,491 & 127,282 18S rDNA sequences were obtained from uPVC & Cu biofilms, respectively. Comparison of uPVC and Cu biofilms indicated significant differences between bacterial (P =0.001) and eukaryotic (P <0.01) members attributable to the unique presence of several family taxa: Burkholderiaceae, Characeae, Epistylidae, Goniomonadaceae, Paramoebidae, Plasmodiophoridae, Plectidae, Sphenomonadidae, and Toxariaceae within uPVC biofilms; and Enterobacteriaceae, Erythrobacteraceae, Methylophilaceae, Acanthamoebidae, and Chlamydomonadaceae within Cu biofilms. Introduction of L. pneumophila alone or with A. polyphaga had no affect on bacterial community profiles (P > 0.05) but did affect eukaryotic members (uPVC, P <0.01; Cu, P = 0.001). Thus, established DW biofilms are complex communities that seem to vary based on substratum matrix and maintain consistent bacterial communities despite introduction of L. pneumophila, an environmental pathogen.
