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Molina CA, Quiroz-Moreno C, Jarrín-V P, Díaz M, Yugsi E, Pérez-Galarza J, Baldeón-Rojas L. Bacterial community assessment of drinking water and downstream distribution systems in highland localities of Ecuador. J Water Health 2024; 22:536-549. [PMID: 38557569 DOI: 10.2166/wh.2024.290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Bacterial communities in drinking water provide a gauge to measure quality and confer insights into public health. In contrast to urban systems, water treatment in rural areas is not adequately monitored and could become a health risk. We performed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to analyze the microbiome present in the water treatment plants at two rural communities, one city, and the downstream water for human consumption in schools and reservoirs in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. We tested the effect of water treatment on the diversity and composition of bacterial communities. A set of physicochemical variables in the sampled water was evaluated and correlated with the structure of the observed bacterial communities. Predominant bacteria in the analyzed communities belonged to Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The Sphingobium genus, a chlorine resistance group, was particularly abundant. Of health concern in drinking water reservoirs were Fusobacteriaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Ruminococcaceae; these families are associated with human and poultry fecal contamination. We propose the latter families as relevant biomarkers for establishing local standards for the monitoring of potable water systems in highlands of Ecuador. Our assessment of bacterial community composition in water systems in the Ecuadorian highlands provides a technical background to inform management decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Alfonso Molina
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Cdla. Universitaria y Gaspar de Carvajal s/n., 170521 Quito, Ecuador; Instituto de Investigación en Zoonosis (CIZ), Universidad Central del Ecuador, Cdla. Universitaria y Gaspar de Carvajal s/n., 170521, Quito, Ecuador E-mail:
| | - Cristian Quiroz-Moreno
- Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus OH 43210
| | - Pablo Jarrín-V
- Laboratorio de Secuenciamiento de Ácidos Nucleicos, Dirección de Gestión de la Innovación, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad INABIO, Pje. Rumipamba N341 y Av. de los Shyris, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Magdalena Díaz
- Instituto de Investigación en Zoonosis (CIZ), Universidad Central del Ecuador, Cdla. Universitaria y Gaspar de Carvajal s/n., 170521, Quito, Ecuador; Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Ritter s/n y Bolivia, 170521 Quito, Ecuador; Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), University of Valencia and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Carrer del Catedràtic Agustín Escardino Benlloch, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
| | - Elizabeth Yugsi
- Centro de Biotecnología 'Dr Daniel Alkalay Lowitt', Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, General Bari 699, 2390136, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Jorge Pérez-Galarza
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Iquique N14-121 y Sodiro, Quito, Ecuador; Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Capitán Giovanni Calles y Derby, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Lucy Baldeón-Rojas
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Iquique N14-121 y Sodiro, Quito, Ecuador; Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Capitán Giovanni Calles y Derby, Quito, Ecuador
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Díaz M, Monfort-Lanzas P, Quiroz-Moreno C, Rivadeneira E, Castillejo P, Arnau V, Díaz W, Agathos SN, Sangari FJ, Jarrín-V P, Molina CA. The microbiome of the ice-capped Cayambe Volcanic Complex in Ecuador. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1154815. [PMID: 37213502 PMCID: PMC10196084 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1154815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in microbial ecology is to understand the principles and processes by which microbes associate and interact in community assemblages. Microbial communities in mountain glaciers are unique as first colonizers and nutrient enrichment drivers for downstream ecosystems. However, mountain glaciers have been distinctively sensitive to climate perturbations and have suffered a severe retreat over the past 40 years, compelling us to understand glacier ecosystems before their disappearance. This is the first study in an Andean glacier in Ecuador offering insights into the relationship of physicochemical variables and altitude on the diversity and structure of bacterial communities. Our study covered extreme Andean altitudes at the Cayambe Volcanic Complex, from 4,783 to 5,583 masl. Glacier soil and ice samples were used as the source for 16S rRNA gene amplicon libraries. We found (1) effects of altitude on diversity and community structure, (2) the presence of few significantly correlated nutrients to community structure, (3) sharp differences between glacier soil and glacier ice in diversity and community structure, where, as quantified by the Shannon γ-diversity distribution, the meta-community in glacier soil showed more diversity than in glacier ice; this pattern was related to the higher variability of the physicochemical distribution of variables in the former substrate, and (4) significantly abundant genera associated with either high or low altitudes that could serve as biomarkers for studies on climate change. Our results provide the first assessment of these unexplored communities, before their potential disappearance due to glacier retreat and climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Díaz
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación en Zoonosis (CIZ), Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
- Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (ISysBio), University of Valencia and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Valencia, Spain
- *Correspondence: Magdalena Díaz,
| | - Pablo Monfort-Lanzas
- Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (ISysBio), University of Valencia and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Valencia, Spain
| | - Cristian Quiroz-Moreno
- Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Erika Rivadeneira
- Instituto de Investigación en Zoonosis (CIZ), Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Pablo Castillejo
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
- Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad Internacional SEK, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Vicente Arnau
- Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (ISysBio), University of Valencia and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Valencia, Spain
| | - Wladimiro Díaz
- Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (ISysBio), University of Valencia and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Valencia, Spain
| | - Spiros N. Agathos
- Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Félix J. Sangari
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
- Instituto de Biomedicina y Biotecnología de Cantabria (IBBTEC), CSIC – Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Pablo Jarrín-V
- Dirección de Innovación, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad INABIO, Quito, Ecuador
| | - C. Alfonso Molina
- Instituto de Investigación en Zoonosis (CIZ), Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
- C. Alfonso Molina,
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Quiroz-Moreno C, Furlan MF, Belinato JR, Augusto F, Alexandrino GL, Mogollón NGS. RGCxGC toolbox: An R-package for data processing in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Microchem J 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2020.104830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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