The germination of fungal spores in water and enhanced their resistance to chlor(am)ine: Characteristics and mechanisms

Microplastics Reshape the Fate of Aqueous Carbon by Inducing Dynamic Changes in Biodiversity and Chemodiversity

“…Most fungi have spore sizes below 5 μm. 34 To retain as many microbes and remove as many impurities as possible, we filtered the collected water samples using 5 μm filters (Navigator, Germany). The residual MPs (<1 × 10 −3 mg/L) in the filtered water were ignored.…”

Stimulated Germination of Chlorine-Resistant Fungal Spores during Drinking Water Chlor(am)ination

“…As shown in Figure a–c, germination of the spores of the three selected fungal strains were low in STW with or without HA through the 21-day incubation period: the germination ratios were negligible at the initial stage and increased over time to a temporary maximum (≲10% for all three species in both matrixes) on ∼6th–14th day, comparable to the germination ratio of Aspergillus niger spores in surface water; afterward, the germination ratios decreased, probably as a result of self-apoptosis of germinated spores and fragmentation of mycelium (see microscopic observations in Figure S3). pH variation (5.0, 7.0, and 9.0) showed minimal influence on fungal spore germination for all the three strains in STW (Figure S4); thus, the results are not discussed in depth here.…”

“…However, scarce information is available to characterize germination of fungal spores in step 2, which is a key process linking fungal regrowth and biofilm formation and serves as an indicator for potential fungal outbreak in potable water. The fungal spores generally keep in dormancy until activated by appropriate environmental conditions, and once activated, the germinated fungal spores could be even more resistant to the disinfectants than their dormant form . Therefore, in order to better control fungal regrowth, it is crucial to investigate factors affecting their germination and associated physiological and biochemical changes in chronically nutrient-poor environments like DWDSs with residual disinfectants.…”

“…The fungal spores generally keep in dormancy until activated by appropriate environmental conditions, and once activated, the germinated fungal spores could be even more resistant to the disinfectants than their dormant form. 20 Therefore, in order to better control fungal regrowth, it is crucial to investigate factors affecting their germination and associated physiological and biochemical changes in chronically nutrient-poor environments like DWDSs with residual disinfectants.…”