Sewage reflects the distribution of human faecal L achnospiraceae

Abstract

Summary Faecal pollution contains a rich and diverse community of bacteria derived from animals and humans, many of which might serve as alternatives to the traditional enterococci and E scherichia coli faecal indicators. We used massively parallel sequencing ( MPS ) of the 16 S rRNA gene to characterize microbial communities from wastewater treatment plant ( WWTP ) influent sewage from 12 cities geographically distributed across the USA . We examined members of the C lostridiales , which included the families C lostridiaceae , L achnospiraceae and R uminococcaceae for their potential as sewage indicators. L achnospiraceae was one of the most abundant groups of faecal bacteria in sewage, and several L achnospiraceae high‐abundance sewage pyrotags occurred in at least 46 of 48 human faecal samples. Clone libraries targeting C lostridium coccoides ( C . coccoides ) in sewage samples demonstrated that Lachnospiraceae ‐annotated V 6 pyrotags encompassed the previously reported C . coccoides group. We used oligotyping to profile the genus B lautia within L achnospiraceae and found oligotypes comprised of 24 entropy components that showed patterns of host specificity. These findings suggest that indicators based on B lautia might have the capacity to discriminate between different faecal pollution sources. Development of source‐specific alternative indicators would enhance water quality assessments, which leads to improved ecosystem health and reduced human health risk due to waterborne disease.

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