Opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in Northern Australia.
In the wet-dry tropics of Northern Australia, drinking water in remote communities is mostly sourced from bores accessing groundwater. Many aquifers contain naturally high levels of iron and some are shallow with surface water intrusion in the wet season. Therefore, environmental bacteria such as ir...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b572b004a33647caacd33320b6d2aee0 2023-05-15T15:16:18+02:00 Opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in Northern Australia. Mirjam Kaestli Michelle O'Donnell Alea Rose Jessica R Webb Mark Mayo Bart J Currie Karen Gibb 2019-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672 https://doaj.org/article/b572b004a33647caacd33320b6d2aee0 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672 https://doaj.org/article/b572b004a33647caacd33320b6d2aee0 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 13, Iss 9, p e0007672 (2019) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672 2022-12-31T07:48:33Z In the wet-dry tropics of Northern Australia, drinking water in remote communities is mostly sourced from bores accessing groundwater. Many aquifers contain naturally high levels of iron and some are shallow with surface water intrusion in the wet season. Therefore, environmental bacteria such as iron-cycling bacteria promoting biofilm formation in pipes or opportunistic pathogens can occur in these waters. An opportunistic pathogen endemic to northern Australia and Southeast Asia and emerging worldwide is Burkholderia pseudomallei. It causes the frequently fatal disease melioidosis in humans and animals. As we know very little about the microbial composition of drinking water in remote communities, this study aimed to provide a first snapshot of the microbiota and occurrence of opportunistic pathogens in bulk water and biofilms from the source and through the distribution system of three remote water supplies with varying iron levels. Using 16s-rRNA gene sequencing, we found that the geochemistry of the groundwater had a substantial impact on the untreated microbiota. Different iron-cycling bacteria reflected differences in redox status and nutrients. We cultured and sequenced B. pseudomallei from bores with elevated iron and from a multi-species biofilm which also contained iron-oxidizing Gallionella, nitrifying Nitrospira and amoebae. Gallionella are increasingly used in iron-removal filters in water supplies and more research is needed to examine these interactions. Similar to other opportunistic pathogens, B. pseudomallei occurred in water with low organic carbon levels and with low heterotrophic microbial growth. No B. pseudomallei were detected in treated water; however, abundant DNA of another opportunistic pathogen group, non-tuberculous mycobacteria was recovered from treated parts of one supply. Results from this study will inform future studies to ultimately improve management guidelines for water supplies in the wet-dry tropics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 13 9 e0007672 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Mirjam Kaestli Michelle O'Donnell Alea Rose Jessica R Webb Mark Mayo Bart J Currie Karen Gibb Opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in Northern Australia. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
In the wet-dry tropics of Northern Australia, drinking water in remote communities is mostly sourced from bores accessing groundwater. Many aquifers contain naturally high levels of iron and some are shallow with surface water intrusion in the wet season. Therefore, environmental bacteria such as iron-cycling bacteria promoting biofilm formation in pipes or opportunistic pathogens can occur in these waters. An opportunistic pathogen endemic to northern Australia and Southeast Asia and emerging worldwide is Burkholderia pseudomallei. It causes the frequently fatal disease melioidosis in humans and animals. As we know very little about the microbial composition of drinking water in remote communities, this study aimed to provide a first snapshot of the microbiota and occurrence of opportunistic pathogens in bulk water and biofilms from the source and through the distribution system of three remote water supplies with varying iron levels. Using 16s-rRNA gene sequencing, we found that the geochemistry of the groundwater had a substantial impact on the untreated microbiota. Different iron-cycling bacteria reflected differences in redox status and nutrients. We cultured and sequenced B. pseudomallei from bores with elevated iron and from a multi-species biofilm which also contained iron-oxidizing Gallionella, nitrifying Nitrospira and amoebae. Gallionella are increasingly used in iron-removal filters in water supplies and more research is needed to examine these interactions. Similar to other opportunistic pathogens, B. pseudomallei occurred in water with low organic carbon levels and with low heterotrophic microbial growth. No B. pseudomallei were detected in treated water; however, abundant DNA of another opportunistic pathogen group, non-tuberculous mycobacteria was recovered from treated parts of one supply. Results from this study will inform future studies to ultimately improve management guidelines for water supplies in the wet-dry tropics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mirjam Kaestli Michelle O'Donnell Alea Rose Jessica R Webb Mark Mayo Bart J Currie Karen Gibb |
author_facet |
Mirjam Kaestli Michelle O'Donnell Alea Rose Jessica R Webb Mark Mayo Bart J Currie Karen Gibb |
author_sort |
Mirjam Kaestli |
title |
Opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in Northern Australia. |
title_short |
Opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in Northern Australia. |
title_full |
Opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in Northern Australia. |
title_fullStr |
Opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in Northern Australia. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in Northern Australia. |
title_sort |
opportunistic pathogens and large microbial diversity detected in source-to-distribution drinking water of three remote communities in northern australia. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672 https://doaj.org/article/b572b004a33647caacd33320b6d2aee0 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 13, Iss 9, p e0007672 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672 https://doaj.org/article/b572b004a33647caacd33320b6d2aee0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007672 |
container_title |
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
e0007672 |
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1766346595410903040 |