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Bacterial viability and diversity in a landscape lake replenished with reclaimed water: a case study in Xi’an, China

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Abstract

To understand the characteristics of bacterial viability and diversity in landscape waters replenished with reclaimed water, the typical landscape lake using reclaimed water was investigated in this study. Samples were collected from a reclaimed water inlet (P1), a reclaimed water distribution outlet (P2), and a landscape lake replenished by reclaimed water (P3). By means of measuring adenosine triphosphate (ATP), flow cytometry (FCM), and 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing, the bacterial viability and diversity in reclaimed water distribution system and landscape lake were illustrated. The bacterial ATP contents at P1, P2, and P3 were 3.55 ± 1.79 ng/L, 3.31 ± 1.43 ng/L, and 18.97 ± 6.39 μg/L, and the intact bacterial cell concentrations were 5.91 ± 0.52 × 104 cells/mL, 7.95 ± 2.58 × 104 cells/mL, and 5.65 ± 2.10 × 106 cells/mL, respectively. These results indicated a significant increase of bacterial viability in the landscape lake. The Shannon diversity index of 6.535, 7.05, and 6.886 at P1, P2, and P3, respectively, demonstrated no notable change of bacterial diversity from reclaimed water distribution system to landscape lake. However, the relative abundance of Pseudomonas sp. at P3 was significantly higher than that at P1. These findings indicated that viable but non-culturable (VBNC) bacteria could be revived in the landscape lake. The bacterial viability during reclaimed water reuse should deserve special attention.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51578441), the National Program of Water Pollution Control (No. 2013ZX07310-001), and the Key Research and Development Project of Shaanxi Province (No.2020ZDLNY06-07).

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Author notes

  1. Chongmiao Zhang and Pengcheng Xu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China

    Chongmiao Zhang, Pengcheng Xu, Xiaochang C. Wang & Limei Xu

  2. Key Lab of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China

    Chongmiao Zhang, Pengcheng Xu, Xiaochang C. Wang & Limei Xu

  3. Engineering Technology Research Center for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China

    Chongmiao Zhang, Pengcheng Xu, Xiaochang C. Wang & Limei Xu

  4. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China

    Chongmiao Zhang, Pengcheng Xu, Xiaochang C. Wang & Limei Xu

Authors
  1. Chongmiao Zhang
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Correspondence to Chongmiao Zhang or Xiaochang C. Wang.

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Highlights

• Bacterial viability and diversity were investigated in the landscape reuse system

• Bacterial viability increased greatly in the landscape lake

• VBNC bacteria obviously revived when replenishing the landscape lake

• Bacterial diversity changes slightly except several phyla and genus

Main finding

VBNC bacteria revived during replenishing of a landscape lake, while bacterial diversity showed no great change.

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Bacterial viability and diversity in a landscape lake replenished with reclaimed water: a case study in Xi’an, China (DOCX 29 kb).

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Zhang, C., Xu, P., Wang, X.C. et al. Bacterial viability and diversity in a landscape lake replenished with reclaimed water: a case study in Xi’an, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 32796–32808 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08910-1

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