Sewage reflects the distribution of human faecal Lachnospiraceae

Abstract

Summary Faecal pollution contains a rich and diverse community of bacteria derived from animals and humans, many of which might serve as alternatives to the traditional enterococci and Escherichia coli faecal indicators. We used massively parallel sequencing (MPS) of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize microbial communities from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent sewage from 12 cities geographically distributed across the USA. We examined members of the Clostridiales, which included the families Clostridiaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae for their potential as sewage indicators. Lachnospiraceae was one of the most abundant groups of faecal bacteria in sewage, and several Lachnospiraceae high-abundance sewage pyrotags occurred in at least 46 of 48 human faecal samples. Clone libraries targeting Clostridium coccoides (C. coccoides) in sewage samples demonstrated that Lachnospiraceae-annotated V6 pyrotags encompassed the previously reported C. coccoides group. We used oligotyping to profile the genus Blautia within Lachnospiraceae and found oligotypes comprised of 24 entropy components that showed patterns of host specificity. These findings suggest that indicators based on Blautia might have the capacity to discriminate between different faecal pollution sources. Development of source-specific alternative indicators would enhance water quality assessments, which leads to improved ecosystem health and reduced human health risk due to waterborne disease.

Assessment of the microbiological quality of recreational waters: indicators and methods

“…and bacteriophages have been addressed as potential FIB or viruses. Some studies also focused on Firmicutes (McLellan et al 2013), Methanobrevibacter smithii, a common anaerobic archaeon in the intestine was found in sewage (Johnston et al 2010), and human polyomavirus (Hellein et al 2011). Fecal anaerobes may be more indicative of the presence of pathogens because they are unlikely to grow once released from their host into the environment.…”

Diverse, rare microbial taxa responded to the Deepwater Horizon deep-sea hydrocarbon plume

“…Bacterial communities were analyzed using 454 pyrosequencing of the V6V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Dates of sampling, specific water depth and locations are given in Table 1. virulent and nonpathogenic microorganisms (Eren et al, 2011), host-specific fecal-indicator bacteria (McLellan et al, 2013), marine SAR11 oligotypes and host-specificity in spongehosted microbial communities (Reveillaud et al, 2014). Importantly, the method is immune to complications originating from the occurrence of multiple copies of the 16S rRNA gene.…”

Distribution and Differential Survival of Traditional and Alternative Indicators of Fecal Pollution at Freshwater Beaches

“…Bacteria within the order Bacteroidales are common targets for quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays and have been used for the detection of sewage (18)(19)(20)(21), ruminant (19,22), canine (19), and avian (23,24) sources of fecal pollution. Certain members within the order Clostridiales have also demonstrated host-associated patterns (25). Our lab has developed a qPCR assay that targets the second most abundant humanassociated Lachnospiraceae (Lachno2) in sewage (26) and has been used to track sewage contamination in environmental waters (27).…”