Bacterial release from pipe biofilm in a full-scale drinking water distribution system.

ABSTRACT: Safe drinking water is delivered to the consumer through kilometres of pipes. These pipes are lined with biofilm, which is thought to affect water quality by releasing bacteria into the drinking water. This study describes the number of cells released from this biofilm, their cellular characteristics, and their identity as they shaped a drinking water microbiome. Installation of ultrafiltration (UF) at full scale in Varberg, Sweden reduced the total cell count to 1.5 × 103 ± 0.5 × 103 cells mL-1 in water leaving the treatment plant. This removed a limitation of both flow cytometry and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, which have difficulties in resolving small changes against a high background cell count. Following installation, 58% of the bacteria in the distributed water originated from the

SUBMITTER: Chan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6385293 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature