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Yuan L, Ju F. Potential Auxiliary Metabolic Capabilities and Activities Reveal Biochemical Impacts of Viruses in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:5485-5498. [PMID: 36947091 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c07800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Viruses influence biogeochemical cycles in oceans, freshwater, soil, and human gut through infection and by modulating virocell metabolism through virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes (vAMGs). However, the geographical distribution, potential metabolic function, and engineering significance of vAMGs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) remain to be explored. Here, 752 single-contig viral genomes with high confidence, 510 of which belonged to Caudovirales, were recovered from the activated sludge metagenomes of 32 geographically distributed WWTPs. A total of 101 vAMGs involved in various metabolic pathways were identified, the most common of which were the queuosine biosynthesis genes folE, queD, and queE and the sulfur metabolism gene cysH. Phylogenetic analysis and virus-host relationship prediction revealed the probable evolutionary histories of vAMGs involved in carbon (acpP and prsA), nitrogen (amoC), sulfur (cysH), and phosphate (phoH) metabolism, which potentially mediate microbial carbon and nutrient cycling. Notably, 11 of the 38 (28.3%) vAMGs identified in the metagenomes with corresponding metatranscriptomes were transcriptionally expressed, implying an active functional state. This meta-analysis provides the first broad catalog of vAMGs in municipal WWTPs and how they may assist in the basic physiological reactions of their microbial hosts or nutrient cycling in the WWTPs, and therefore, may have important effects on the engineering of wastewater treatment processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Yuan
- Environmental Science and Engineering Department, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
- Environmental Microbiome and Biotechnology Laboratory (EMBLab), Center of Synthetic Biology and Integrated Bioengineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
| | - Feng Ju
- Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
- Environmental Microbiome and Biotechnology Laboratory (EMBLab), Center of Synthetic Biology and Integrated Bioengineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
- Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China
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Johnson W, Reeves K, Liebig J, Feula A, Butler C, Alkire M, Singh S, Litton S, O'Conor K, Jones K, Ortega N, Shimek T, Witteman J, Bjorkman KK, Mansfeldt C. Effectiveness of building-level sewage surveillance during both community-spread and sporadic-infection phases of SARS-CoV-2 in a university campus population. FEMS MICROBES 2022; 3:xtac024. [PMID: 37332508 PMCID: PMC10117889 DOI: 10.1093/femsmc/xtac024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Pathogen surveillance within wastewater rapidly progressed during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and informed public health management. In addition to the successful monitoring of entire sewer catchment basins at the treatment facility scale, subcatchment or building-level monitoring enabled targeted support of resource deployment. However, optimizing the temporal and spatial resolution of these monitoring programs remains complex due to population dynamics and within-sewer physical, chemical, and biological processes. To address these limitations, this study explores the advancement of the building-scale network that monitored the on-campus residential population at the University of Colorado Boulder between August 2020 and May 2021 through a daily SARS-CoV-2 surveillance campaign. During the study period, SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence transitioned from robust community spread in Fall 2020 to sporadic infections in Spring 2021. Temporally, these distinct phases enabled investigating the effectiveness of resource commitment by exploring subsets of the original daily sampling data. Spatially, select sampling sites were installed along the flow path of the pipe network, enabling the exploration of the conservation of viral concentrations within the wastewater. Infection prevalence and resource commitment for informed action displayed an inverted relationship: higher temporal and spatial resolution surveillance is more imperative during sporadic infection phases than during high prevalence periods. This relationship was reinforced when norovirus (two minor clusters) and influenza (primarily absent) were additionally surveilled at a weekly frequency. Overall, resource commitment should scale to meet the objectives of the monitoring campaign-providing a general prevalence estimate requires fewer resources than an early-warning and targeted-action monitoring framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Johnson
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 1111 Engineering Drive, Boulder, CO 80309, United States
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Katelyn Reeves
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 1111 Engineering Drive, Boulder, CO 80309, United States
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Jennifer Liebig
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Antonio Feula
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Claire Butler
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Michaela Alkire
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Samiha Singh
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Shelby Litton
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Kerry O'Conor
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Keaton Jones
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Nikolas Ortega
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Trace Shimek
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Julia Witteman
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Kristen K Bjorkman
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
| | - Cresten Mansfeldt
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 1111 Engineering Drive, Boulder, CO 80309, United States
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
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Jia X, Shahzad K, Klemeš JJ, Jia X. Changes in water use and wastewater generation influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of China. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 314:115024. [PMID: 35447447 PMCID: PMC8986492 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Revised: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
This paper examines and projects the water use and wastewater generation during and after the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in China, and discussed the water use/wastewater generation pattern changes among different sectors. Existing studies on the impact of pandemic spread-prevention measures on water consumption and wastewater treatment during the pandemic are reviewed. The water use and wastewater discharge in China through the COVID-19 period are then projected and analyzed using Multivariate Linear Regression. The projection is carried out for years 2019-2023 and covers an (estimated) full process of pre-pandemic, pandemic outbreak, and recovery phase and provides essential information for determining the complete phase impact of the COVID-19. Two scenarios, i.e. the recovery scenario and the business as usual scenario, are set to investigate the water use and wastewater generation characteristics after the pandemic. The results imply that in both scenarios, the water use in China shows a V-shaped trend from 2019 to 2023 and reached a low point in 2020 of 5,813✕108 m3. The wastewater discharge shows an increasing trend throughout the COVID period in both scenarios. The results are also compared with the water consumption and wastewater generation during the SARS-CoV-1 period. The implication for policymakers is the possible increase of water use and wastewater discharge in the post COVID period and the necessity to ensure the water supply and control of water pollution and wastewater discharge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuexiu Jia
- Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory - SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology - VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Khurram Shahzad
- Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Jiří Jaromír Klemeš
- Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory - SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology - VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Xiaoping Jia
- Qingdao University of Science and Technology, 99 Songling Rd, Laoshan District, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
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Wang X, Wu F, Zhao X, Zhang X, Wang J, Niu L, Liang W, Leung KMY, Giesy JP. Enlightenment from the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Environmental Factors in Future Public Health Emergency Response. ENGINEERING (BEIJING, CHINA) 2022; 8:108-115. [PMID: 33747606 PMCID: PMC7955573 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2020.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is challenging the current public health emergency response systems (PHERSs) of many countries. Although environmental factors, such as those influencing the survival of viruses and their transmission between species including humans, play important roles in PHERSs, little attention has been given to these factors. This study describes and elucidates the roles of environmental factors in future PHERSs. To improve countries' capability to respond to public health emergencies associated with viral infections such as the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of environmental factors should be considered before, during, and after the responses to such emergencies. More specifically, to prevent pandemic outbreaks, we should strengthen environmental and wildlife protection, conduct detailed viral surveillance in animals and hotspots, and improve early-warning systems. During the pandemic, we must study the impacts of environmental factors on viral behaviors, develop control measures to minimize secondary environmental risks, and conduct timely assessments of viral risks and secondary environmental effects with a view to reducing the impacts of the pandemic on human health and on ecosystems. After the pandemic, we should further strengthen surveillance for viruses and the prevention of viral spread, maintain control measures for minimizing secondary environmental risks, develop our capability to scientifically predict pandemics and resurgences, and prepare for the next unexpected resurgence. Meanwhile, we should restore the normal life and production of the public based on the "One Health" concept, that views global human and environmental health as inextricably linked. Our recommendations are essential for improving nations' capability to respond to global public health emergencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Fengchang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Xiaoli Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Xiao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Junyu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Lin Niu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Weigang Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Kenneth Mei Yee Leung
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution & Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - John P Giesy
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
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