Integrating running water monitoring tools with the Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method to improve water quality assessment

PLOS ONE, Nov 2019

Running water habitats are among the most altered aquatic systems by human activities driving an increase in the organic components and the associated bacterial load as well. To contribute in improving the monitoring activities in running waters, here we tested the validity of the new Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method to specifically assess the bacterial load in running waters focusing on Total Viable Counts (at 22°C and 37°C) and Escherichia coli (at 44°C) in order to propose a new prognostic tool for watercourses. MBS method is an alternative colorimetric method for counting bacterial load in water and food samples that is easy to use and leads to a reliable and simple interpretation of results, being also faster and less expensive than traditional methods. Then, we compared MBS with the traditionally used reference method for the bacterial load, and with the most used biotic index for Italian watercourses based on the benthic invertebrates: the Extended Biotic Index (EBI). The last comparison was performed to validate the use of MBS in biomonitoring activities since the benthic invertebrate multi-species assemblage (and then EBI) alter own structure mainly depending on the organic component variation. During the first part of the study, the assessment of both linearity (regressions among bacterial concentrations) and accuracy (significant correlation between a measured value and a value used as reference) confirmed the validity of the MBS method. Second, the linear regressions between the three investigated microbial parameters vs. both physical-chemical descriptors and EBI, revealed the usefulness of MBS as a valid tool for routine microbiological analyses involved in rapid and easy field monitoring activities. This represents the first attempt to evaluate the river microbial status by exploiting the innovative MBS on running waters to propose it as new valuable monitoring tool in the biomonitoring field.

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Integrating running water monitoring tools with the Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method to improve water quality assessment

September Integrating running water monitoring tools with the Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method to improve water quality assessment Lorenzo Traversetti 0 1 Francesca Losito 1 Alyexandra Arienzo 0 1 Ottavia Stalio 0 1 Giovanni Antonini 0 1 Massimiliano Scalici 0 1 0 Department of Sciences, University Roma Tre , Rome , Italy , 2 INBB Interuniversity Consortium of Structural and Systems Biology , Rome , Italy 1 Editor: Andrea Franzetti, Universita degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca , ITALY Running water habitats are among the most altered aquatic systems by human activities driving an increase in the organic components and the associated bacterial load as well. To contribute in improving the monitoring activities in running waters, here we tested the validity of the new Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method to specifically assess the bacterial load in running waters focusing on Total Viable Counts (at 22ÊC and 37ÊC) and Escherichia coli (at 44ÊC) in order to propose a new prognostic tool for watercourses. MBS method is an alternative colorimetric method for counting bacterial load in water and food samples that is easy to use and leads to a reliable and simple interpretation of results, being also faster and less expensive than traditional methods. Then, we compared MBS with the traditionally used reference method for the bacterial load, and with the most used biotic index for Italian watercourses based on the benthic invertebrates: the Extended Biotic Index (EBI). The last comparison was performed to validate the use of MBS in biomonitoring activities since the benthic invertebrate multi-species assemblage (and then EBI) alter own structure mainly depending on the organic component variation. During the first part of the study, the assessment of both linearity (regressions among bacterial concentrations) and accuracy (significant correlation between a measured value and a value used as reference) confirmed the validity of the MBS method. Second, the linear regressions between the three investigated microbial parameters vs. both physical-chemical descriptors and EBI, revealed the usefulness of MBS as a valid tool for routine microbiological analyses involved in rapid and easy field monitoring activities. This represents the first attempt to evaluate the river microbial status by exploiting the innovative MBS on running waters to propose it as new valuable monitoring tool in the biomonitoring field. - Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Introduction Inland waters are vital and vulnerable ecosystems that are critical for the sustenance of life globally. They are fundamental hydric resources for environmental, domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes [ 1 ]. However, inland waters are ecologically and economically deeply altered by human activities [2±4]. The Land-use and the urban development are two of the most relevant causes of the detrimental alteration of ecosystems' structure, dynamic and functioning leading to effects on the health of biotic communities including humans [e.g. 5±8]. Although the wastewater treatment systems may decrease the organic contaminant concentra tion in watercourses, to date the great challenge is to prevent detrimental habitat exposures. For these reasons, the maintenance of healthy aquatic ecosystem throughout exploiting inter disciplinary approaches (the latter being widely stimulated by specific requirements of the Water Framework Directive±WFD 2000/60) represents a major concern in the environmental monitoring field [e.g. 9±13]. To date the latter is mainly based on the plant and animal biological diversity (by applying biotic indices) and physical-chemical properties. In this regard, a regular monitoring of water bodies is a critical tool to prevent the outbreak of diseases and occurrence of ecological hazards. It is also important for use-related purposes such as drinking water production, irrigation and recreation [ 1 ]. A progressive increase in the organic components and suspended materials in streams results in the heterotrophic bacterial load alteration [ 14 ]. The heterotrophic bacterial load may be interpreted as a good descriptor of organic pollution of surface waters, due to their rapid response to changes in environmental conditions [ 15 ]. Some of these heterotrophic bacteria grow in human and other warm-blooded animals' intestine and faeces, and are known to be often pathogenic or potentially pathogenic. They are brought into aquatic environments through the release of wastewater effluents, surface runoff and soil leaching. The detection and enumeration of all pathogenic microorganisms potentially present in the water is not practicable, because the isolation and identification of many of these is seldom quantitative and (...truncated)


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Lorenzo Traversetti, Francesca Losito, Alyexandra Arienzo, Ottavia Stalio, Giovanni Antonini, Massimiliano Scalici. Integrating running water monitoring tools with the Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method to improve water quality assessment, PLOS ONE, 2017, Volume 12, Issue 9, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185156