TY - JOUR

T1 - Occurrence of Legionella in wastewater treatment plants linked to wastewater characteristics

AU - Caicedo, C.

AU - Beutel, S.

AU - Scheper, T.

AU - Rosenwinkel, K. H.

AU - Nogueira, R.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank Mrs. Karen Kock from the Institute for Sanitary Engineering and Waste Management from Leibniz University Hannover, for valuable technical assistance in implementing and performing the qPCR analysis. We also thank Mrs. Martina Weiss from Institute of Technical Chemestry from Leibniz University Hannover, for her support on amino acids quantification. The financial support from the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (P 03/13-71 Ar) and the Ruhrverband (Essen) is acknowledged.

PY - 2016/8

Y1 - 2016/8

N2 - In recent years, the occurrence of Legionella in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) has often been reported. However, until now there is limited knowledge about the factors that promote Legionella’s growth in such systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical wastewater parameters that might be correlated to the concentration of Legionella spp. in WWTP receiving industrial effluents. For this purpose, samples were collected at different processes in three WWTP. In 100 % of the samples taken from the activated sludge tanks Legionella spp. were detected at varying concentrations (4.8 to 5.6 log GU/mL) by the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method, but not by the culture method. Statistical analysis with various parameters yielded positive correlations of Legionella spp. concentration with particulate chemical oxygen demand, Kjeldahl nitrogen and protein concentration. Amino acids were quantified in wastewater and activated sludge samples at concentrations that may not support the growth of Legionella, suggesting that in activated sludge tanks this bacterium multiplied in protozoan hosts.

AB - In recent years, the occurrence of Legionella in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) has often been reported. However, until now there is limited knowledge about the factors that promote Legionella’s growth in such systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical wastewater parameters that might be correlated to the concentration of Legionella spp. in WWTP receiving industrial effluents. For this purpose, samples were collected at different processes in three WWTP. In 100 % of the samples taken from the activated sludge tanks Legionella spp. were detected at varying concentrations (4.8 to 5.6 log GU/mL) by the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method, but not by the culture method. Statistical analysis with various parameters yielded positive correlations of Legionella spp. concentration with particulate chemical oxygen demand, Kjeldahl nitrogen and protein concentration. Amino acids were quantified in wastewater and activated sludge samples at concentrations that may not support the growth of Legionella, suggesting that in activated sludge tanks this bacterium multiplied in protozoan hosts.

KW - Activated sludge tanks

KW - Amino acids

KW - Industrial effluents

KW - Legionella spp

KW - Proteins

KW - Wastewater treatment plants

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84976870754&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s11356-016-7090-6

DO - 10.1007/s11356-016-7090-6

M3 - Article

C2 - 27376367

AN - SCOPUS:84976870754

VL - 23

SP - 16873

EP - 16881

JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research

JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research

SN - 0944-1344

IS - 16

ER -