Investigation of natural biofilms formed during the production of drinking water from surface water embankment filtration

Emtiazi, Farahnaz; Schwartz, Thomas; Marten, Silke Mareike; Krolla-Sidenstein, Peter; Obst, Ursula

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2003.10.056

Cited by 153 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Legionella species have been isolated from a wide variety of water types, such as potable water of hospitals (6), industries and hotels (19), ground and surface water and biofilms (14). Moreover, several authors have described the isolation of Legionella spp from showers, cooling towers and boilers (26,33,52), which is in agreement with the findings of the present study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Detection of Legionella pneumophila in water and biofilm samples by culture and molecular methods from man-made systems in São Paulo - Brazil

Carvalho

Foronda

Pellizari³

2007

Braz. J. Microbiol.

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Legionella pneumophila is a pathogenic bacteria associated to aquatic habitat of natural and artificial environments. Clinical cases of legionellosis have been reported in Brazil but there is a lack of information about the incidence and concentration of this bacterium in environmental sources. Thus, the present study was designed to evaluate the occurrence of legionellae in São Paulo city, Brazil, using different methods of detection and identification. Sixty-seven water and biofilm samples from natural reservoirs and man-made systems were collected and analyzed for the presence of Legionella spp by culturing onto a selective medium, coculture in axenic free-living amoebae and direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) assay. Results showed that freshwater of reservoirs did not contain legionellae, Legionella pneumophila was isolated from man-made systems, with predominance of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 strains. Although there was no statistical difference among the proposed detection methods, the plate culture method yielded a higher number of L. pneumophila positive samples, followed by amoebic coculture procedure and direct fluorescent antibody assay. Results of PCR and sequencing reactions revealed that application of macrophage infectivity potentiator gene as a molecular marker was an important tool for the identification of environmental isolates of L. pneumophila. The agreement among the three detection methods-when all methods yielded similar results-and the prevalence of a single Legionella species in the sampled man-made systems could suggest that the occurrence of this bacterium had been influenced by the higher concentration of metallic ions dissociated in water of those systems than in natural reservoirs. Thus, the results of this study revealed that the water of man-made systems in Sao Paulo may serve as a reservoir for L. pneumophila and other microorganism, including free-living protozoans.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Detection of Legionella pneumophila in water and biofilm samples by culture and molecular methods from man-made systems in São Paulo - Brazil

Carvalho

Foronda

Pellizari³

2007

Braz. J. Microbiol.

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“…Among culturable bacteria, the most commonly found genera in drinking water are Pseudomonas [5][6][7][8][9][10][11], Sphingomonas [4,[6][7][8]10,12], Methylobacterium [4,[6][7][8]12], Aeromonas [8,13], and Acinetobacter [5,6,8]. A small number of species, such as the Methylobacterium species [12], Acinetobacter calcoaceticus [4], and Mycobacterium species [12,14] have been implicated in promoting aggregation in pure or simple mixed cultures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Keystone Methylobacterium Strain in Biofilm Formation in Drinking Water

Tsagkari

Keating

Couto

et al. 2017

Water

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Abstract:The structure of biofilms in drinking water systems is influenced by the interplay between biological and physical processes. Bacterial aggregates in bulk fluid are important in seeding biofilm formation on surfaces. In simple pure and co-cultures, certain bacteria, including Methylobacterium, are implicated in the formation of aggregates. However, it is unclear whether they help to form aggregates in complex mixed bacterial communities. Furthermore, different flow regimes could affect the formation and destination of aggregates. In this study, real drinking water mixed microbial communities were inoculated with the Methylobacterium strain DSM 18358. The propensity of Methylobacterium to promote aggregation was monitored under both stagnant and flow conditions. Under stagnant conditions, Methylobacterium enhanced bacterial aggregation even when it was inoculated in drinking water at 1% relative abundance. Laminar and turbulent flows were developed in a rotating annular reactor. Methylobacterium was found to promote a higher degree of aggregation in turbulent than laminar flow. Finally, fluorescence in situ hybridisation images revealed that Methylobacterium aggregates had distinct spatial structures under the different flow conditions. Overall, Methylobacterium was found to be a key strain in the formation of aggregates in bulk water and subsequently in the formation of biofilms on surfaces.

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“…Biofilm is generally recognized as the primary source of microorganisms in DS, as attached cells have certain advantages over planktonic cells (Berry et al, 2006;Emtiazi et al, 2004;Tachikawa et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular analysis of long-term biofilm formation on PVC and cast iron surfaces in drinking water distribution system

Liu

Zhu

et al. 2014

Journal of Environmental Sciences

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a b s t r a c tTo understand the impacts of different plumbing materials on long-term biofilm formation in water supply system, we analyzed microbial community compositions in the bulk water and biofilms on faucets with two different materials-polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and cast iron, which have been frequently used for more than10 years. Pyrosequencing was employed to describe both bacterial and eukaryotic microbial compositions. Bacterial communities in the bulk water and biofilm samples were significantly different from each other. Specific bacterial populations colonized on the surface of different materials. Hyphomicrobia and corrosion associated bacteria, such as Acidithiobacillus spp., Aquabacterium spp., Limnobacter thiooxidans, and Thiocapsa spp., were the most dominant bacteria identified in the PVC and cast iron biofilms, respectively, suggesting that bacterial colonization on the material surfaces was selective. Mycobacteria and Legionella spp. were common potential pathogenic bacteria occurred in the biofilm samples, but their abundance was different in the two biofilm bacterial communities. In contrast, the biofilm samples showed more similar eukaryotic communities than the bulk water. Notably, potential pathogenic fungi, i.e., Aspergillus spp. and Candida parapsilosis, occurred in similar abundance in both biofilms. These results indicated that microbial community, especially bacterial composition was remarkably affected by the different pipe materials (PVC and cast iron).

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Investigation of natural biofilms formed during the production of drinking water from surface water embankment filtration

Cited by 153 publications

References 23 publications

Detection of Legionella pneumophila in water and biofilm samples by culture and molecular methods from man-made systems in São Paulo - Brazil

Detection of Legionella pneumophila in water and biofilm samples by culture and molecular methods from man-made systems in São Paulo - Brazil

A Keystone Methylobacterium Strain in Biofilm Formation in Drinking Water

Molecular analysis of long-term biofilm formation on PVC and cast iron surfaces in drinking water distribution system

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