Workshop: Advancing Understanding of Microbiomes in Drinking Water Distribution Systems and Premise Plumbing Using Meta-omics Techniques, Denver, CO, August 15-16, 2017

Water Research Foundation, Denver CO

Investigators

Abstract

1701641 Jang The proposed workshop will examine the feasibility and practicality of new advances in the analysis of microorganisms to assess drinking water quality and to identify areas for collaboration and synergy in research focused on the understanding of microbiology of water systems. This two-day workshop to be held in Denver, CO August 15-16, 2017 will bring together approximately 30 interdisciplinary and international experts from fields that are using microbiome analyses (human body, built environments) and drinking water research on microbial diversity using meta-omics techniques. Experts will discuss current drinking water microbiome monitoring techniques in water treatment, the state-of-art of meta-omics techniques, and the impact of the drinking water microbiome on public health in plenary sessions, breakout groups, and facilitated panel discussions. Recent advances in DNA sequencing technology, bioinformatics, and big-data technology have allowed scientists and researchers to effectively use these meta-omics (e.g., metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metaproteomics) tools to study microbiomes in various microbial ecosystems. National, multi-agency programs have been developed to study and elucidate the microbiomes of the human body and built environments. The NIH-funded Human Microbiome Project Consortium has established a population-scale framework to develop meta-omics protocols, resulting in a broad range of quality-controlled resources and data including standardized methods for creating, processing and interpreting distinct types of high-throughput meta-omics data. Similarly, the National Academies? Board on Life Sciences has announced a large-scale project to assess the state of knowledge on microbiomes of the built environment and the implications for human health, sustainability, security, and the design, construction, and operation of physical infrastructural systems and other elements of built environments. Nevertheless, the use of advanced meta-omics techniques to study the drinking water microbiome is at its infant stage. It remains an important question whether a deep understanding of drinking water microbiomes by meta-omic tools can be obtained in a systematic and cost-effective way so that the knowledge can be used by water utilities to better manage the water quality, shape the drinking water microbiome, and ultimately protect public health. Current conventional and advanced treatment processes are producing high-quality and safe drinking water. However, emerging research is uncovering that drinking water distribution systems can harbor microorganisms in biofilms and suspensions. Healthy tap water is teeming with microbial life, typically 1,000-50,000 total microbial cells per mL, potentially reaching over a million. The quality of this water begins to deteriorate in the current premise plumbing infrastructure when water is stored for days to months and beyond the time that residual disinfectants and anti-corrosive agents (e.g., phosphates to protect against lead leaching) are effective. This deterioration can lead to microbial regrowth in drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing which can cause undesirable water quality changes and violations of public health regulations. Specifically, biofilms can act as natural harbors for some opportunistic pathogens (e.g., Mycobacterium avium and Legionella pneumophila) that affect immune compromised populations, allow invasive pathogens to attach when intrusion events occur, and remain as a component of waterborne disease risk that is hard to predict. Already, there has been a 3.5 fold increase in Legionnaire?s disease outbreaks, caused by Legionella pneumophila, between 2000 and 2011. The problem is further compounded by the presence of pathogens that are resistant to a wide spectrum of antibiotics, which would in turn increase morbidity and mortality rates among infected individuals. Antibiotic resistance genes present in the water can also be horizontally acquired from one pathogen to another, hence further escalating the potential risks. There is an urgent need to improve and disseminate our understanding of the microorganisms in our drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing (or drinking water microbiome) to protect the public from increasing risk to chemical and pathogen exposure. To improve and disseminate our understanding of the microorganisms in our drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing (or drinking water microbiome), this workshop aims to: 1) provide an overview of current drinking water treatment processes and methods used in studying drinking water microbiome, and identify current challenges and gaps in applying meta-omics tools to effectively understand the drinking water microbiome; 2) provide an overview of the most advanced meta-omics tools used in studying microbiomes, and identify the research needs for bridging the use of meta-omics techniques to the analysis of drinking water microbiome; and, 3) provide an overview of known microbiomes that are of public health concern in distribution systems and premise plumbing, and to identify the knowledge gaps on how to effectively shape drinking water microbiome using innovative engineering approaches, and better manage healthier drinking water networks. Through this, analytical procedures in meta-omics techniques can be standardized, and this effort will allow researchers, scientists and utility engineers to effectively compare their findings among different studies, select effective methods among all available meta-omics techniques, identify novel key biomarkers for water quality monitoring, and derive critical knowhow. At the same time, it allows educational institutions to work closely with water utilities to develop effective education programs and produce the next-generation researchers and engineers who have real-scale research and working experiences. These advances will enable the major breakthroughs needed to better understand the drinking water microbiomes within the next 5-10 years to help protect the public from increasing risk to pathogen exposure.