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The effect of chlorination and hydrodynamic shear stress on the persistence of bacteriophages associated with drinking water biofilms
Author(s) -
Pelleieux S.,
Mathieu L.,
Block J.C.,
Gantzer C.,
Bertrand I.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/jam.13243
Subject(s) - biofilm , chlorine , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , shear stress , shear (geology) , chemistry , bacteriophage , biology , environmental chemistry , materials science , escherichia coli , biochemistry , composite material , paleontology , genetics , organic chemistry , gene
Aims This work aimed to assess at pilot scale the effect of chlorination and water flushing on 2‐month‐old drinking water biofilms and, above all, on biofilm‐associated F‐specific RNA bacteriophages MS 2, GA and Q β . Methods and Results Chlorination (4 mg l −1 ) was applied first with a hydrodynamic shear stress of 1 Pa and second with an increase in hydrodynamic shear stress to 10 Pa. Despite a rapid decrease in the number of biofilm bacteria and associated phages, infectious phages were still detected on surfaces after completion of the 150 min cleaning procedure. The resulting sequence of phage removal was: GA > Q β ≫ MS 2. Conclusions The effect of chlorine on biofilm bacteria and biofilm‐associated phages was limited to the upper layers of the biofilm and was not enhanced by an increase in hydrodynamic shear stress. A smaller decrease was observed for MS 2 than for GA or Q β after completion of the cleaning procedure. Significance and Impact of the Study The differences observed between the three phages suggest that the location of the viral particles in the biofilm, which is related to their surface properties, affects the efficiency of chlorine disinfection.