Interaction between Fungal Communities, Soil Properties, and the Survival of Invading E. coli O157:H7 in Soils

Guannan Huang; Jiafen Liao; Ziming Han; Jiahang Li; Liyue Zhu; Guangze Lyu; Lu Lu; Yuang Xie; Jincai Ma

doi:10.3390/ijerph17103516

Interaction between Fungal Communities, Soil Properties, and the Survival of Invading E. coli O157:H7 in Soils

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 May 18;17(10):3516. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103516.

Authors

Guannan Huang^{1

2}, Jiafen Liao², Ziming Han³, Jiahang Li³, Liyue Zhu², Guangze Lyu², Lu Lu², Yuang Xie², Jincai Ma^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Ground Water Resource and Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.
² Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.

Abstract

Pathogens that invade into the soil cancontaminate food and water, andinfect animals and human beings. It is well documented that individual bacterial phyla are well correlated with the survival of E. coliO157 (EcO157), while the interaction betweenthe fungal communities and EcO157 survival remains largely unknown. In this study, soil samples from Tongliao, Siping, and Yanji in northeast China were collected and characterized. Total DNA was extracted for fungal and bacterial community characterization. EcO157 cells were spiked into the soils, and their survival behavior was investigated. Results showed that both fungal and bacterial communities were significantly correlated (p < 0.01) with the survival of EcO157 in soils, and the relative abundances of fungal groups (Dothideomycetes and Sordariomycetes) and some bacterial phyla (Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, gamma- and delta-Proteobacteria)weresignificantly correlated with ttds (p < 0.01). Soil pH, EC (electric conductance) salinity, and water-soluble nitrate nitrogen were significantly correlated with survival time (time to reach the detection limit, ttd) (p < 0.05). The structural equation model indicated that fungal communities could directly influence ttds, and soil properties could indirectly influence the ttds through fungal communities. The first log reduction time (δ) was mainly correlated with soil properties, while the shape parameter (p) was largely correlated with fungal communities. Our data indicated that both fungal and bacterial communities were closely correlated (p < 0.05)with the survival of EcO157 in soils, and different fungal and bacterial groups might play different roles. Fungal communities and bacterial communities explained 5.87% and 17.32% of the overall variation of survival parameters, respectively. Soil properties explained about one-third of the overall variation of survival parameters. These findings expand our current understanding of the environmental behavior of human pathogens in soils.

Keywords: E.coli O157:H7; fungal community; soil; structural equation model; survival.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Escherichia coli O157*
Fungi*
Mycobiome*
Soil
Soil Microbiology*

Substances

Soil