Bacteriophages in water pollution control: Advantages and limitations
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Bacteriophages in water pollution control: Advantages and limitations Mengzhi Ji1, Zichen Liu1, Kaili Sun1, Zhongfang Li (✉)2, Xiangyu Fan (✉)1, Qiang Li1 1 School of Biological Science and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China 2 College of Food and Bioengineering, Hezhou University, Hezhou 542899, China
HIGHLIGHTS
GRAPHIC ABSTRACT
• Phages can be better indicators of enteric viruses than fecal indicator bacteria. • Multiple phages should be added to the microbial source tracking toolbox. • Engineered phage or phage cocktail can effectively target resistant bacteria. • In phage use, phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer cannot be ignored. • More schemes are needed to prevent phage concentration from decreasing.
ARTICLE INFO Article history:
Received 26 May 2020 Revised 11 September 2020 Accepted 29 September 2020 Available online 5 December 2020 Keywords: Phage Water pollution monitoring Harmful bacteria biocontrol Horizontal gene transfer Bacterial resistance
ABSTRACT Wastewater is a breeding ground for many pathogens, which may pose a threat to human health through various water transmission pathways. Therefore, a simple and effective method is urgently required to monitor and treat wastewater. As bacterial viruses, bacteriophages (phages) are the most widely distributed and abundant organisms in the biosphere. Owing to their capacity to specifically infect bacterial hosts, they have recently been used as novel tools in water pollution control. The purpose of this review is to summarize and evaluate the roles of phages in monitoring pathogens, tracking pollution sources, treating pathogenic bacteria, infecting bloom-forming cyanobacteria, and controlling bulking sludge and biofilm pollution in wastewater treatment systems. We also discuss the limitations of phage usage in water pollution control, including phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer, the evolution of bacterial resistance, and phage concentration decrease. This review provides an integrated outlook on the use of phages in water pollution control. © Higher Education Press 2020
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Introduction
Human demand for safe drinking water is rising, but water resources are limited worldwide. To alleviate this disparity, effective treatment and reuse of wastewater are becoming
✉ Corresponding authors E-mail: [email protected] (Z. Li); [email protected] (X. Fan)
increasingly important. The existence of pathogenic bacteria and viral pathogens in wastewater poses a threat to human health and has become a major public health issue (Mathieu et al., 2019). Residual antibiotics may be discharged into wastewater from hospitals without treatment, creating selection pressure on the microorganisms in the water and accelerating the development of antibioticresistance genes (ARGs) (Rodriguez-Mozaz et al., 2015).
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Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 2021, 15(5): 84
Hence, monitoring water quality and wastewater treatment is particularly important. At present, antibacterial agents are still widely used in many areas to eliminate some micro
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