Carolina Oliveira de Santana , Pieter Spealman , David Gresham , M. Elias Dueker , Gabriel G. Perron
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Sewage contamination of freshwater occurs in the form of raw waste or as effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP's). While raw waste (animal and human) and under-functioning WWTP's can introduce live enteric bacteria to freshwater systems, most WWTP's, even when operating correctly, do not remove bacterial genetic material from treated waste, resulting in the addition of bacterial DNA, including antibiotic resistance genes, into water columns and sediment of freshwater systems. In freshwater systems with both raw and treated waste inputs, then, there will be increased interaction between live sewage-associated bacteria (untreated sewage) and DNA contamination (from both untreated and treated wastewater effluent). To evaluate this understudied interaction between DNA and bacterial contamination in the freshwater environment, we conducted a three-month field-based study of sewage-associated bacteria and genetic material in water and sediment in a freshwater tributary of the Hudson River (NY, USA) that supplies drinking water and receives treated and untreated wastewater discharges from several municipalities. Using both DNA and culture-based bacterial analyses, we found that both treated and untreated sewage influences water and sediment bacterial communities in this tributary, and water-sediment exchanges of enteric bacteria and genetic material. Our results also indicated that the treated sewage effluent on this waterway serves as a concentrated source of intI1 (antibiotic resistance) genes, which appear to collect in the sediments below the outfall along with fecal indicator bacteria. Our work also captured the environmental impact of a large rain event that perturbed bacterial populations in sediment and water matrices, independently from the outflow. This study suggests that large precipitation events are an important cause of bacterial and DNA contamination for freshwater tributaries, with runoff from the surrounding environment being an important factor.
淡水受到污水污染的形式有原始废物或污水处理厂(WWTP)排出的污水。虽然原始废物(动物和人类)和运行不正常的污水处理厂会将活的肠道细菌引入淡水系统,但大多数污水处理厂即使运行正常,也不会清除处理过的废物中的细菌遗传物质,从而导致细菌 DNA(包括抗生素耐药性基因)进入淡水系统的水柱和沉积物中。因此,在既有未经处理的污水又有经过处理的污水输入的淡水系统中,与污水相关的活细菌(未经处理的污水)和 DNA 污染(来自未经处理和经过处理的污水)之间的相互作用将会增加。为了评估淡水环境中 DNA 与细菌污染之间这种未被充分研究的相互作用,我们对哈德逊河(美国纽约)的一条淡水支流的水和沉积物中的污水相关细菌和遗传物质进行了为期三个月的实地研究。通过 DNA 和基于培养的细菌分析,我们发现经过处理和未经处理的污水都会影响该支流的水和沉积物细菌群落,以及肠道细菌和遗传物质的水沉积物交换。我们的研究结果还表明,这条水道上经过处理的污水是 intI1(抗生素耐药性)基因的集中来源,这些基因似乎与粪便指示细菌一起聚集在排污口下方的沉积物中。我们的研究还捕捉到了一场大雨对环境的影响,这场大雨扰乱了沉积物和水体基质中的细菌种群,与排污口无关。这项研究表明,大规模降雨事件是淡水支流细菌和 DNA 污染的重要原因,而来自周围环境的径流是一个重要因素。
期刊介绍:
The Science of the Total Environment is an international journal dedicated to scientific research on the environment and its interaction with humanity. It covers a wide range of disciplines and seeks to publish innovative, hypothesis-driven, and impactful research that explores the entire environment, including the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and anthroposphere.
The journal's updated Aims & Scope emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary environmental research with broad impact. Priority is given to studies that advance fundamental understanding and explore the interconnectedness of multiple environmental spheres. Field studies are preferred, while laboratory experiments must demonstrate significant methodological advancements or mechanistic insights with direct relevance to the environment.