It’s a Long Way to the Tap: Microbiome and DNA-Based Omics at the Core of Drinking Water Quality

Antonia Bruno, Giulia Agostinetto, Sara Fumagalli, Giulia Ghisleni and Anna Sandionigi
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Antonia Bruno: Biotechnology and Biosciences Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Giulia Agostinetto: Biotechnology and Biosciences Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Sara Fumagalli: Biotechnology and Biosciences Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Giulia Ghisleni: Biotechnology and Biosciences Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Anna Sandionigi: Quantia Consulting S.r.l., 22066 Milan, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: Microbial communities interact with us and affect our health in ways that are only beginning to be understood. Microorganisms have been detected in every ecosystem on Earth, as well as in any built environment that has been investigated. Drinking water sources, drinking water treatment plants and distribution systems provide peculiar microbial ecological niches, dismantling the belief of the “biological simplicity” of drinking water. Nevertheless, drinking water microbiomes are understudied compared to other microbiomes. Recent DNA sequencing and meta-omics advancements allow a deeper understanding of drinking water microbiota. Thus, moving beyond the limits of day-to-day testing for specific pathogenic microbes, new approaches aim at predicting microbiome changes driven by disturbances at the macro-scale and overtime. This will foster an effective and proactive management of water sources, improving the drinking water supply system and the monitoring activities to lower public health risk. Here, we want to give a new angle on drinking water microbiome research. Starting from a selection of 231 scientific publications on this topic, we emphasize the value of biodiversity in drinking water ecosystems and how it can be related with industrialization. We then discuss how microbiome research can support sustainable drinking water management, encouraging collaborations across sectors and involving the society through responsible research and innovation.

Keywords: drinking water; microbiome; omics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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