Effect of cooked rice with added fructo-oligosaccharide on faecal microorganisms investigated by in vitro digestion and fermentation

In the present study,the effects of cooked rice(CR)with added fructo-oligosaccharide(FOS)on faecal flora were studied by a simulated in vitro digestion and fermentation method.The total carbohydrate content,p H,and s hort-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)were determined during in vitro digestion and fermentation.The change in the bacterial phase distribution after the fermentation was also analysed.The results showed that t he total carbohydrate content of the CR with added FOS(FCR)significantly decreased during the simulated digestion.Meanwhile,the p H of the FCR decreased and the SCFAs concentration increased significantly compared to those of the CR during the simulated fermentation.In addition,the FCR showed the advantage of promoting beneficial bacteria,such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus,and inhibiting harmful bacteria,such as Bacteroides and Klebsiella compared to the CR.Therefore,the FOS as a prebiotic could be recommended to produce the high-quality healthy rice food.

Soil bacterial depth distribution controlled by soil orders and soil forms

Human disturbances to soils can lead to dramatic changes in soil physical,chemical,and biological properties.The influence of agricultural activities on the bacterial community over different orders of soil and at depth is still not well understood.We used the concept of genoform and phenoform to investigate the vertical(down to 1 m depth)soil bacterial community structure in paired genosoils(undisturbed forests)and phenosoils(cultivated vineyards)in different soil orders.The study was conducted in the Hunter Valley area,New South Wales,Australia,where samples were collected from 3 different soil orders(Calcarosol,Chromosol,and Kurosol),and each soil order consists of a pair of genosoil and phenosoil.The bacterial community structure was analyzed using highthroughput sequencing of 16S rRNA.Results showed that bacterial-diversity decreased with depth in phenosoils,however,the trend is less obvious in genoform profiles.Topsoil diversity was greater in phenosoils than genosoils,but the trend was reversed in subsoils.Thus,cropping not only affected topsoil bacteria community but also decreased its diversity in the subsoil.Bacterial community in topsoils was influenced by both soil orders and soil forms,however,in subsoils it was more impacted by soil orders.Constrained Analysis of Principal Coordinates revealed that cropping increased the similarity of bacterial structures of different soil orders.This study highlighted the strong influence of agricultural activities on soil microbial distribution with depth,which is controlled by soil order.

Molecular analysis of bacterial community in the tap water with different water ages of a drinking water distribution system

Bacterial community in the drinking water distribution system （DWDS） was regulated by multiple environmental factors, many of which varied as a function of water age. In this study, four water samples with different water ages, including finished water （FW, 0 d） and tap water （TW） [TWI （1 d）, TW2（2 d） and TW3（3 d）], were collected along with the mains of a practical DWDS, and the bacterial community was investigated by high-throughput sequencing technique. Results indicated that the residual chlorine declined with the increase of water age, accompanied by the increase of dissolved organic matter, total bacteria counts and bacterial diversity （Shannon）. For bacterial community composition, although Proteobacteria phylum （84.12%-97.6%） and Alphaproteobacteria class （67.42c/,~93.09%） kept dominate, an evident regular was observed at the order level. In detail, the relative abundance of most of other residual orders increased with different degrees from the start to the end of the DWDS, while a downward trend was uniquely observed in terms of Rhizobiales, who was inferred to be chlorine-resistant and be helpful for inhibiting pipes corrosion. Moreover, some OTUs were found to be closely related with species possessing pathogenicity and chlorine-resistant ability, so it was recommended that the use of agents other than chlorine or agents that can act synergically with chlorine should be developed for drinking water disinfection. This paper revealed bacterial community variations along the mains of the DWDS and the result was helpful for understanding bacterial ecology in the DWDS.

Insights into effects of algae on decay and distribution of bacterial pathogens in recreational water:Implications for microbial risk management

The decay and distribution of bacterial pathogens in water is an important information for the health risk assessment to guide water safety management, and suspended algae might affect bacterial pathogens in water. This study established microcosms to investigate the effects of algae-related factors on the representative indicators and opportunistic pathogen species in water. We found that suspended algae increased the persistence of targeted species by 1-2 orders of magnitude of concentrations compared to microcosms without algae;and the effect of algae on microbial survival was affected by water nutrient levels(i.e., carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus), as the increased microbial persistence were correlated to the increased algae concentrations with more nutrient supplies. Moreover, decay and distribution profiles of representative species were determined. The three opportunistic pathogen species( Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aeromonas hydrophila and Staphylococcus aureus) showed lower decay rates(0.82–0.98/day, 0.76–0.98/day, 0.63–0.87/day) largely affected by algae-related factors, while the enteric species( Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis) had higher decay rates(0.94–1.31/day, 0.89–1.21/day) with little association with algae, indicating the propensity for attachment to algae is an important parameter in microbial fate. Together results suggest suspended algae played an evident role in the decay and distribution of bacterial pathogens, providing important implications regarding microbial safety in recreational water.

Biostability in distribution systems in one city in southern China: Characteristics, modeling and control strategy

This study investigated the bacterial regrowth in drinking water distribution systems receiving finished water from an advanced drinking water treatment plant in one city in southem China. Thirteen nodes in two water supply zones with different aged pipelines were selected to monitor water temperature, dissolved oxygen （DO）, chloramine residual, assimilable organic carbon （AOC）, and heterotrophic plate counts （HPC）. Regression and principal component analyses indicated that HPC had a strong correlation with chloramine residual. Based on Chick-Watson＇s Law and the Monod equation, biostability curves under different conditions were developed to achieve the goal of HPC 100 CFU/mL. The biostability curves could interpret the scenario under various AOC concentrations and predict the required chloramine residual concentration under the condition of high AOC level. The simulation was also carded out to predict the scenario with a stricter HPC goal （≤50 CFU/mL） and determine the required chloramine residual. The biological regrowth control strategy was assessed using biostability curve analysis. The results indicated that maintaining high chloramine residual concentration was the most practical way to achieve the goal of HPC ≤ 100 CFU/mL. Biostability curves could be a very useful tool for biostability control in distribution systems. This work could provide some new insights towards biostability control in real distribution systems.