This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Eichler, S. Articles by Höfle, M. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Eichler, S. Articles by Höfle, M. G. Agricola Articles by Eichler, S. Articles by Höfle, M. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2006, p. 1858-1872, Vol. 72, No. 3
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.3.1858-1872.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Composition and Dynamics of Bacterial Communities of a Drinking Water Supply System as Assessed by RNA- and DNA-Based 16S rRNA Gene Fingerprinting

Stefan Eichler,¹ Richard Christen,² Claudia Höltje,¹ Petra Westphal,¹ Julia Bötel,¹ Ingrid Brettar,¹ Arndt Mehling,³ and Manfred G. Höfle^1*

Department of Environmental Microbiology, GBF-German Research Center for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany,¹ Laboratoire de Biologie Virtuelle, Centre de Biochimie, Parc Valrose, University of Nice, F-06108 Nice, France,² Harzwasserwerke GmbH, Granetalsperre, D-38685 Langelsheim, Germany³

Received 24 June 2005/ Accepted 6 January 2006

Bacterial community dynamics of a whole drinking water supply system (DWSS) were studied from source to tap. Raw water for this DWSS is provided by two reservoirs with different water characteristics in the Harz mountains of Northern Germany. Samples were taken after different steps of treatment of raw water (i.e., flocculation, sand filtration, and chlorination) and at different points along the supply system to the tap. RNA and DNA were extracted from the sampled water. The 16S rRNA or its genes were partially amplified by reverse transcription-PCR or PCR and analyzed by single-strand conformation polymorphism community fingerprints. The bacterial community structures of the raw water samples from the two reservoirs were very different, but no major changes of these structures occurred after flocculation and sand filtration. Chlorination of the processed raw water strongly affected bacterial community structure, as reflected by the RNA-based fingerprints. This effect was less pronounced for the DNA-based fingerprints. After chlorination, the bacterial community remained rather constant from the storage containers to the tap. Furthermore, the community structure of the tap water did not change substantially for several months. Community composition was assessed by sequencing of abundant bands and phylogenetic analysis of the sequences obtained. The taxonomic compositions of the bacterial communities from both reservoirs were very different at the species level due to their different limnologies. On the other hand, major taxonomic groups, well known to occur in freshwater, such as Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, were found in both reservoirs. Significant differences in the detection of the major groups were observed between DNA-based and RNA-based fingerprints irrespective of the reservoir. Chlorination of the drinking water seemed to promote growth of nitrifying bacteria. Detailed analysis of the community dynamics of the whole DWSS revealed a significant influence of both source waters on the overall composition of the drinking water microflora and demonstrated the relevance of the raw water microflora for the drinking water microflora provided to the end user.

---

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Environmental Microbiology, GBF-German Research Center for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany. Phone: 49 531 6181-419. Fax: 49 531 6181-411. E-mail: mho{at}gbf.de.

---

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2006, p. 1858-1872, Vol. 72, No. 3
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.3.1858-1872.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Hamasaki, K., Taniguchi, A., Tada, Y., Long, R. A., Azam, F. (2007). Actively Growing Bacteria in the Inland Sea of Japan, Identified by Combined Bromodeoxyuridine Immunocapture and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 2787-2798 [Abstract] [Full Text]