Impact of disinfection on drinking water biofilm bacterial community

Disinfectants are commonly applied to control the growth of microorganisms in drinking water distribution systems. However, the effect of disinfection on drinking water microbial community remains poorly understood. The present study investigated the impacts of different disinfectants (chlorine and chloramine) and dosages on biofilm bacterial community in bench-scale pipe section reactors. Illumina MiSeq sequencing illustrated that disinfection strategy could affect both bacterial diversity and community structure of drinking water biofilm. Proteobacteria tended to predominate in chloraminated drinking water biofilms, while Firmicutes in chlorinated and unchlorinated biofilms. The major proteobacterial groups were influenced by both disinfectant type and dosage. In addition, chloramination had a more profound impact on bacterial community than chlorination. (C) 2015 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control [MARC2012D010]; National Water Special Program [2012ZX07404-002]; International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China [2010DFA91830]SCI(E)EIPubMed中国科技核心期刊(ISTIC)中国科学引文数据库(CSCD)ARTICLExiesg@pku.edu.cn; zhangxj@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn11200-2053