Occurrence of viable but non-culturable(VBNC)pathogenic bacteria in tap water of public places

Viable but non-culturable(VBNC)bacteria have been detected in source water and effluent of drinking water treatment processes,leading to significant underestimation of viable cell counts.Limited information exists on VBNC bacteria in tap water,particularly in public places.To address this gap,a comprehensive nine-month study was conducted in a major city in south-eastern China,using culture-based and quantitative PCR with propidium monoazide(PMA)dye methods.Forty-five samples were collected from five representative public places(railway station,campus,hospital,shopping mall,and institution).The findings revealed that culturable bacteria represented only 0–17.51%of the viable 16S rRNA genes,suggesting that the majority of viable bacteria existed in an uncultured or VBNC state.Notably,opportunistic pathogens such as Escherichia coli,Enterococcus faecalis,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Salmonella sp.,and Shigella sp.were primarily detected as VBNC cells,with concentrations ranging from 1.03×10^(0)to 3.01×10^(3),1.20×10^(0)to 1.42×10^(2),1.32×10^(0)to 8.82×10^(0),1.00×10^(0)to 6.71×10^(1),and 2.07×10^(0)to 1.93×10^(2)cell equivalent/100 mL,respectively.Culturable P.aeruginosa was observed in tap water after prolonged stagnation,indicating potential risks associated with bacterial regrowth.Spatial and temporal factors accounted for 17.1%and 26.0%,respectively,of the variation in tap water community structure during the sampling period,as revealed by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.This study provides quantitative insights into the occurrence of VBNC bacteria in tap water and highlights the need for more sensitive monitoring methods and microbial control techniques to enhance tap water safety in public locations.

Microbiological quality of roof tank water in an urban village in southeastern China

Urban villages are unique residential neighborhoods in urban areas in China. Roof tanks are their main form of water supply, and water quality deterioration might occur in this system because of poor hygienic conditions and maintenance. In this study, water samples were seasonally collected from an urban village to investigate the influence of roof tanks as an additional water storage device on the variation in the microbial community structure and pathogenic gene markers. Water stagnation in the roof tank induced significant decreases in chlorine(p < 0.05), residual chlorine was as low as 0.02 mg/L in spring. Propidium monoazide(PMA)-qPCR revealed a one-magnitude higher level of total viable bacterial concentration in roof tank water samples(2.14 ± 1.81 × 105gene copies/mL) than that in input water samples(3.57 ± 2.90 × 104gene copies/mL, p < 0.05), especially in spring and summer. In addition,pathogenic fungi, Mycobacterium spp., and Legionella spp. were frequently detected in the roof tanks. Terminal users might be exposed to higher microbial risk induced by high abundance of Legionella gene marker. Spearman’s rank correlation and redundancy analysis showed that residual chlorine was the driving force that promoted bacterial colonization and shaped the microbial community. It is worth noted that the sediment in the pipe will be agitated when the water supply is restored after the water outages, which can trigger an increase in turbidity and bacterial biomass. Overall, the findings provide practical suggestions for controlling microbiological health risks in roof tanks in urban villages.

A survey on heavy metal concentrations in residential neighborhoods: The influence of secondary water supply systems

Water quality deterioration often occurs in secondary water supply systems(SWSSs), and increased heavy metal concentrations can be a serious problem. In this survey, twelve residential neighborhoods were selected to investigate the influence of SWSSs on the seasonal changes in heavy metal concentrations from input water to tank and tap water. The concentrations of nine evaluated heavy metals in all groups of water samples were found to be far below the specified standard levels in China. The concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Zn increased significantly from the input water samples to the tank and tap water samples in spring and summer( p < 0.05), especially for the water samples that had been stagnant for a long time. Negative correlations were found between most of the heavy metals and residual chlorine(Fe, Cu, Zn, and As, r =-0.186 to-0.519, p < 0.05). In particular, a high negative correlation was observed between Fe and residual chlorine( r =-0.489 to-0.519, p < 0.01) in spring and summer. Fe and Mn displayed positive correlations with turbidity( r = 0.672 and 0.328, respectively;p < 0.05). In addition, Cr and As were found to be positively associated with some nutrients(NO, TN, and SO;r = 0.420-0.786, p < 0.01). The material of the storage tanks had little influence on the difference in heavy metal concentrations. Overall, this survey illustrated that SWSSs may pose a chronic threat to water quality and could provide useful information for practitioners.

Polyhydric Corrole and Its Gallium Complex： Synthesis, DNA-binding Properties and Photodynamic Activities

A new hydrophilic polyhydric corrole （1） and its Ga（III） complex （1-Ga） were synthesized and characterized. Corroles 1 and 1-Ga bind to calf thymus DNA externally and exhibit remarkable photonuclease-like activity. Singlet oxygen （102） was identified as the reactive oxygen species involved. These corroles also exhibit significant photocytotoxicity against HeLa, A549, BEL-7402 and HepG2 tumor cell lines. They mainly accumulated in the nuclei of tumor cells. ROS-mediated mitochondrial damage and intracellular DNA disintegration contributed to the observed photodynamic activity.