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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2003, p. 3975-3978, Vol. 69, No. 7
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.7.3975-3978.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7400
Received 2 October 2002/ Accepted 7 April 2003
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Because NV cannot be grown or assayed for infectivity in any known laboratory host (5), reverse transcription (RT)-PCR is the only sensitive and specific assay system currently available. However, it was not certain whether the RT-PCR assay could accurately predict the loss of virus infectivity by disinfection. Therefore, two other enteric viruses, poliovirus 1 (PV1) and coliphage MS2, were included in this study to allow comparison of RT-PCR assay data with infectivity assay data for these viruses and thereby determine whether the assays provide equivalent information. Also, these two viruses have been widely used as indicator viruses for disinfection efficiency (13). A previous study reported that RT-PCR, especially RT-PCR for small (<300 nucleotides) targets, may not reliably quantify virus infectivity because the RNA of inactivated viruses may be amplified (14). To increase the agreement between virus reduction data obtained with infectivity assays and that obtained with RT-PCR assays, new primer sets that can amplify larger regions of viral RNA genomes were developed and used in this study. This approach was used to increase the size of the genomic target sites examined for ozone-induced damage to genomic RNA that would prevent successful amplification.
Ozone has been used for decades as a primary disinfectant for drinking water in many European countries and received more interest in other countries after the discovery of potentially harmful by-products of chlorine disinfection. Ozone is a very strong oxidant and an effective disinfectant against most waterborne pathogens (13). In fact, most enteric viruses studied, such as rotaviruses, parvoviruses, and hepatitis A virus, are substantially inactivated by ozone (with CT99 [concentration x exposure time to achieve 99% inactivation of a microorganism] values being much less than 1 mg/liter · min). Despite its growing use and proven effectiveness against other waterborne pathogens, ozone has not been studied for its ability to disinfect NV or other human caliciviruses. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the NV reduction caused by bench-scale (semibatch) ozone disinfection in buffered, oxidant demand-free water by using quantitative RT-PCR for virus assays and to compare this reduction with those of two other important public health-related viruses previously studied for their inactivation by ozone.
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Glassware and reagents.
Glassware for experiments was prepared by soaking in an ozone solution (>1 mg/liter) for 1 h, thorough rinsing with ozone demand-free (ODF) water, and baking in an oven for 2 h at 200°C. All solutions and buffers were made with ODF water that was generated by ozonating and purging Dracor reagent grade water as described in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 18th ed. (1).
Ozone generation and delivery and measurement of residual ozone.
Ozone was generated by passing dry oxygen gas through a corona discharge type ozone generator (Sander Ozonizer model 200), and the generated ozone was directed successively through an equilibrium tank, the ozone contactor, and an ozone destruction system (Fig. 1). The flow rate was
50 ml/min, and the ozone dosage was adjusted by a valve on the generator. Residual ozone in water was determined by the Indigo method as described in Standard Methods (1).
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FIG. 1. Ozonation apparatus. Ozone was generated by passing dry O2 gas through a corona discharge type ozone generator (Sander Ozonizer model 200), and the generated ozone was directed successively through an equilibrium tank, the ozone contactor, and an ozone destruction system. The flow rate was 50 ml/min, and the ozone dosage was adjusted by a valve on the generator.
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10 s to reach complete mixing of injected NaCl solution, and therefore the first sampling time for injected viruses was set at 10 s. Samples of 0.6 ml were withdrawn from the reactor via the gravity outlet into vials, which contained a volume of 0.1% sterile sodium thiosulfate or ODF phosphate buffer equal to the collected sample volume. These samples were collected at various times following virus injection to determine remaining virus (10, 30, 60, and 600 s) or ozone concentrations (20, 90, 180, and 330 s) as a function of contact time. Viruses were assayed by both cell culture assays and two RT-PCR assays, short target (ST) and long target (LT). Ozone concentration was determined by the Indigo method as described in Standard Methods (1).
PCR primers.
The oligonucleotide primers used in this study for ST RT-PCR for NV, PV1, and MS2 have been previously described (2, 10, 11). The oligonucleotide primers for LT RT-PCR for the viruses were developed for this study. The highly conserved RNA polymerase region of the NV was used as the target for the synthesis of 1,024 bp of NV cDNA (5' primer, 5'-CCG GAG TAT ATG AGC CAG CAT; 3' primer, 5'-CCT CAC TTG TAT TGG TCC TCC TTC TGT T-3'). Also, the highly conserved RNA polymerase region of PV1 was used as the target for the synthesis of an 866-bp PV1 cDNA (5' primer, 5'-CGA TCC CAG GCT TAA GAC AGA CTT TGA G-3'; 3' primer, 5'-GGT AGG AAG CAA TTA CAT CAT CAC CAT AGG C-3'). The highly structured replicase region of coliphage MS2 was used as the target for the synthesis of a 494-bp MS2 cDNA (5' primer, 5'-ATG AGG ATT ACC CAT GTC GAA G-3'; 3' primer, 5'-TCC CTA CAA CGA GCC TAA ATT C-3').
Infectivity assays.
PV1 was assayed by the plaque technique on confluent layers of BGMK cell cultures grown in 60-mm-diameter petri dishes, and coliphage MS2 was assayed by the double-agar-layer plaque technique on host E. coli C3000 as previously described (12).
RT-PCR assays. (i) ST RT-PCR.
Viruses were assayed by RT-PCR using a Perkin-Elmer RNA core kit as previously described (10). RT was performed at 42°C for 60 min by using Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase with specific antisense primers for NV and PV1 or random hexamers for MS2. PCR was performed by using Taq polymerase with additional specific sense primers for NV and PV1 and both antisense and sense primers for MS2. A total of 40 cycles of PCR was carried out using the following program: denaturation for 1.5 min at 95°C, annealing for 1.5 min at 55°C, and extension for 1.5 min at 72°C. A 15-µl portion of RT-PCR product was analyzed by gel electrophoresis on 2% agarose, the electrophoresed gel was stained with ethidium bromide, and resolved PCR products were visualized by UV light using a transilluminator.
(ii) LT RT-PCR.
Viruses were assayed by RT-PCR using a Titan One Tube RT-PCR kit (Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals) according to the manufacturer's instructions with some minor modifications. RT was performed at 50 to 55°C for 30 min by using avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase with specific antisense primers for NV, PV1, and MS2. PCR was performed by using a Taq-Pwo polymerase mixture with additional specific sense primers for each virus. A total of 35 cycles of PCR was carried out using the following program: first round (10 cycles), denaturation for 30 s at 94°C, annealing for 30 s at 55 to 60°C depending on the primers used, and extension for 1 min at 68°C; second round (25 cycles), denaturation for 30 s at 94°C, annealing for 30 s at 55 to 60°C depending on the primers used, extension for 1 min at 68°C with an additional 5 s for the second cycle, and a final elongation step at 68°C for 7 min. A 15-µl portion of RT-PCR product was analyzed by gel electrophoresis on 1.3% agarose, the electrophoresed gel was stained with ethidium bromide, and resolved PCR products were visualized by UV light using a transilluminator.
Data presentation.
Virus disinfection data, expressed as PFU per milliliter for PV1 and MS2 or PCR units per milliliter for NV as well as PV1 and MS2, are average values from either duplicate cultures or RT-PCR assays. For each experiment, the virus concentrations of the virus control samples at zero time were computed and expressed as N0, the initial virus concentration. For each test sample, the average concentration of each virus was computed. The proportion of initial viruses remaining at each test time (t) was computed for each virus by dividing the virus concentration at each test time (Nt) by the initial virus concentration (N0). These values were then log10 transformed [log10 (N/N0)], and the values from duplicate experiments were averaged. These mean data for log10 (Nt/N0) were then paired with the data for sampling time (t) and plotted.
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FIG. 2. Virus inactivation by ozone (initial dose, 0.37 mg/liter; pH 7; 5°C). Arrows indicate the detection limits.
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View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 1. Reductions of NV, PV 1, and coliphage MS2 by ozone in buffered demand-free watera
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3 log10 after a contact time of 10 s, which is greater than that of PV1 (2 log10) and MS2 (2.5 log10). The reductions of PV1 and MS2 based on both ST and LT PCR assays corresponded relatively well with those based on infectivity assays in the initial phase of inactivation, where first-order reduction kinetics can be followed. This may be because the mechanism of virus inactivation is the oxidative degradation that occurs rapidly under these ozonation conditions and also perhaps because viral nucleic acid is a key and perhaps primary target of ozone. Kim et al. (7) observed that RNA of bacteriophage f2 is released from phage particles after the phage capsid is degraded into protein subunits by ozonation. They suggested that ozone alters the protein capsid first to liberate RNA and that the naked RNA may be secondarily inactivated by ozone. They also reported this phenomenon to be concentration dependent, with degradation of virus capsids occurring faster at higher dosages of ozone. However, Roy et al. (9) reported that the rate-determining step in inactivation of poliovirus was a mass transfer diffusional process and suggested that the primary mode of inactivation by ozone appears to be nucleic acid damage instead of viral capsid damage. Therefore, it is possible that the agreement between loss of infectivity and loss of RT-PCR titers in this study resulted because an important and perhaps primary target of ozone is the viral nucleic acid. In any event, the results of this study suggest that RT-PCR is a useful infectivity surrogate assay for nonculturable viruses in ozone disinfection studies, especially at higher doses of ozone, as was the case in this study.
Finally, the results of this study indicate that NV contamination of drinking water can be controlled by adequate ozone disinfection practice. The reduction of NV by a 0.37-mg/liter dose of ozone was at least 3 log10 by 10 s based on both ST and LT PCR and >4 log10 in 5 min based on ST PCR. Comparing the reductions of viruses by ozone in these semibatch experiments with reported virus reductions by ozone in previous simple batch experiments is difficult because the ozone exposure and reaction conditions are different. However, NV appears to be no more resistant to ozone than are other human enteric viruses such as rotavirus (15) and hepatitis A virus (4). (The reductions of PV1 and MS2 detected by infectivity assay were more than 5 and 7 log10, respectively, with the same dosage of ozone in 10 s.) Therefore, the treatment requirement for virus removal from drinking water of 4 log10 specified in the Surface Water Treatment Rule (3) appears to be readily achievable by adequate ozonation in the case of NV contamination as well as contamination by other enteric viruses such as enteroviruses, hepatitis A virus, and rotaviruses.
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