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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2005, p. 706-712, Vol. 71, No. 2
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.2.706-712.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Accumulation and Fate of Microorganisms and Microspheres in Biofilms Formed in a Pilot-Scale Water Distribution System

Jonas Långmark,1* Michael V. Storey,1 Nicholas J. Ashbolt,2 and Thor-Axel Stenström1

Department of Parasitology, Mycology and Water Microbiology, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Solna, Sweden,1 Centre for Water and Waste Technology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia2

Received 18 June 2004/ Accepted 15 September 2004

The accumulation and fate of model microbial "pathogens" within a drinking-water distribution system was investigated in naturally grown biofilms formed in a novel pilot-scale water distribution system provided with chlorinated and UV-treated water. Biofilms were exposed to 1-µm hydrophilic and hydrophobic microspheres, Salmonella bacteriophages 28B, and Legionella pneumophila bacteria, and their fate was monitored over a 38-day period. The accumulation of model pathogens was generally independent of the biofilm cell density and was shown to be dependent on particle surface properties, where hydrophilic spheres accumulated to a larger extent than hydrophobic ones. A higher accumulation of culturable legionellae was measured in the chlorinated system compared to the UV-treated system with increasing residence time. The fate of spheres and fluorescence in situ hybridization-positive legionellae was similar and independent of the primary disinfectant applied and water residence time. The more rapid loss of culturable legionellae compared to the fluorescence in situ hybridization-positive legionellae was attributed to a loss in culturability rather than physical desorption. Loss of bacteriophage 28B plaque-forming ability together with erosion may have affected their fate within biofilms in the pilot-scale distribution system. The current study has demonstrated that desorption was one of the primary mechanisms affecting the loss of microspheres, legionellae, and bacteriophage from biofilms within a pilot-scale distribution system as well as disinfection and biological grazing. In general, two primary disinfection regimens (chlorination and UV treatment) were not shown to have a measurable impact on the accumulation and fate of model microbial pathogens within a water distribution system.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Parasitology, Mycology and Water Microbiology, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, SE-171 82 Solna, Sweden. Phone: 46 (8) 457 2453. Fax: 46 (8) 318 45065. E-mail: jlk{at}smi.ki.se.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2005, p. 706-712, Vol. 71, No. 2
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.2.706-712.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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