Exploring the under-investigated “microbial dark matter” of drinking water treatment plants

• DOI: 10.1038/srep44350
• Publication Date: 2017-03-14T10:08:00Z
• Authors: Antonia Bruno; Anna Sandionigi; Ermanno Rizzi; Marzia Bernasconi; Saverio Vicario; Andrea Galimberti; Clementina Cocuzza; Massimo Labra; Maurizio Casiraghi
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 0303 health sciences; Bacteria; Evolution; Drinking Water; microbiology; Water; Biodiversity; 15. Life on land; Article; Carbon; 6. Clean water; Water Purification; 03 medical and health sciences; Italy; 13. Climate action; Charcoal; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Water Quality; Multidisciplinary, Water quality, DNA sequenzing, HTS, Microbiology; Humans; Water Microbiology; Groundwater; Filtration; Phylogeny

Abstract Scientists recently reported the unexpected detection of unknown or poorly studied bacterial diversity in groundwater. The ability to uncover this neglected biodiversity mainly derives from technical improvements, and term “microbial dark matter” was used group taxa investigated not necessarily monophyletic. We focused on such under-investigated microbial matter drinking water treatment plant groundwater, across carbon filters, post-chlorination. tackled topic using an integrated approach where efficacy stringent filtration (10000 MWCO) recovering even smallest environmental microorganisms coupled with high-throughput DNA sequencing depict informative spectrum diversity. Our results revealed that composition communities varies system: Parcubacteria (OD1) superphylum is found treated water, while groundwater has highest heterogeneity, encompassing non-OD1 candidate phyla (Microgenomates, Saccharibacteria, Dependentiae, OP3, OP1, BRC1, WS3). Carbon filters probably act as substrate for microorganism growth contribute seeding downstream, since chlorination does modify incoming community. New questions arise about role water. Indeed, our suggest these bacteria might play a central dynamics