Indigenous microbial community governs the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in constructed wetlands

Nan Zhang; Chunling Liang; Peiying Kan; Jiannan Yangyao; Dingnan Lu; Zhiyuan Yao; Huihui Gan; David Z Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117524

Indigenous microbial community governs the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in constructed wetlands

J Environ Manage. 2023 May 15:334:117524. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117524. Epub 2023 Feb 16.

Authors

Nan Zhang¹, Chunling Liang², Peiying Kan³, Jiannan Yangyao⁴, Dingnan Lu¹, Zhiyuan Yao⁵, Huihui Gan¹, David Z Zhu¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Geography Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China; Institute of Ocean Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, PR China.
³ School of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Geography Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
⁴ School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
⁵ School of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Geography Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China; Institute of Ocean Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China. Electronic address: yaozhiyuan@nbu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36801692
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117524

Abstract

The survival pattern of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) and its regulatory factors in natural environments have been widely studied. However, there is little information about the survival of E. coli O157:H7 in artificial environments, especially in wastewater treatment facilities. In this study, a contamination experiment was performed to explore the survival pattern of E. coli O157:H7 and its central control factors in two constructed wetlands (CWs) under different hydraulic loading rates (HLRs). The results showed that the survival time of E. coli O157:H7 was longer in the CW under the higher HLR. Substrate ammonium nitrogen and available phosphorus were the main factors that influenced the survival of E. coli O157:H7 in CWs. Despite the minimal effect of microbial α-diversity, some keystone taxa, such as Aeromonas, Selenomonas, and Paramecium, governed the survival of E. coli O157:H7. In addition, the prokaryotic community had a more significant impact on the survival of E. coli O157:H7 than the eukaryotic community. The biotic properties had a more substantial direct power on the survival of E. coli O157:H7 than the abiotic factors in CWs. Collectively, this study comprehensively disclosed the survival pattern of E. coli O157:H7 in CWs, which is an essential addition to the environmental behavior of E. coli O157:H7, providing a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of biological contamination in wastewater treatment processes.

Keywords: Abiotic factors; Biotic properties; Constructed wetland; E. coil O157:H7; Survival pattern.

MeSH terms

Colony Count, Microbial
Escherichia coli O157*
Microbiota*
Wastewater
Wetlands

Substances

Wastewater