CAREER: The Microbiology of Climate Change Disasters: Microbiome-Contaminant Interactions After Wildland-Urban Interface Fires

野火在美国和世界范围内造成重大破坏，包括对人类及其建筑环境与荒地植被相遇和相互作用的荒地-城市界面（WUI）的饮用水系统的破坏。在WUI野火期间，饮用水管道和分配网络的塑料部件可能会经历燃烧和热解，随后释放有毒挥发性有机化学品（VOC），如苯，甲苯，苯乙烯和氯乙烯，这些化学品可能污染饮用水并促进饮用水分配系统（DWDS）中微生物的生长，包括有害病原体。这对野火后的饮用水质量和安全提出了新的担忧，这些问题在以前的研究中没有得到解决。本CAREER提案的总体目标是调查WUI火灾后释放的VOC对DWDS饮用水微生物组和水质的影响。为了推进这一目标，主要研究者建议评估以下假设：1）野火后DWDS中高浓度VOC的释放和持续存在将消耗这些系统中的残留消毒剂，2）剩余VOC将被代谢，以支持自来水中存在的微生物生长，包括水传播病原体，如军团菌属。该项目的成功完成将通过产生新的基础知识来支持解决方案的设计，开发和实施，以减轻和最大限度地减少WUI火灾对饮用水质量和安全的影响，从而使社会受益。通过学生教育和培训，包括指导加州大学欧文分校的一名研究生和一名本科生，将为社会带来额外的好处。随着野火因气候变化而在美国和世界范围内变得更加频繁和严重，迫切需要新的基本知识，以了解和减轻野火对饮用水质量的不利影响，在荒地-城市界面（WUI）的配电系统。最近的研究已经确定，WUI野火期间塑料基础设施的燃烧、热解和热降解释放出高浓度的有毒VOC（例如，苯，氯乙烯），将继续污染饮用水分配系统（DWDS）和自来水几个月后，这些火灾。此外，释放的VOC将消耗DWDS中的残留消毒剂，剩余的VOC可被自来水中存在的微生物代谢，包括具有VOC降解遗传潜力的病原体，如军团菌属。该CAREER项目将评估WUI火灾后释放的VOC对DWDS饮用水微生物组和自来水质量的影响。 研究的具体目标是：1）调查环境因素（例如，饮用水源组成和残留消毒剂/VOC浓度）和冲洗方案（例如，停滞和顺序冲洗）对WUI火灾后DWDS和自来水中微生物生长的影响; 2）评估WUI火灾后DWDS和自来水中生物膜在介导VOC吸附和微生物转化中的作用; 3）使用和利用多组学（基因组学和代谢组学）来表征和揭示WUI火灾后DWDS和自来水中微生物组的结构和功能变化。该项目的成功完成有可能通过产生新的基础知识来推动解决方案的设计和开发，以减轻和最大限度地减少WUI火灾对饮用水质量和安全的影响，从而产生变革性影响。为了实施这个职业生涯项目的教育和推广活动，主要研究者（PI）建议利用现有的计划和资源，在加州大学欧文分校（UCI）开发英语/西班牙语双语环境/气候变化课程与全州K-12教师网络合作。此外，本发明还提供了一种方法，PI建议：1）与当地艺术家和研究人员合作，共同创建一个关于自来水质量的社区科学项目; 2）将该CAREER项目的研究成果整合到现有的UCI生物修复和微生物与气候变化课程中。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估被认为值得支持。影响审查标准。

Wildfires are causing significant destruction in the United States and worldwide including damages to drinking water systems at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) where humans and their built environment meet and interact with wildland vegetation. During WUI wildfires, the plastic components of drinking water pipes and distribution networks can undergo combustion and pyrolysis with a subsequent release of toxic volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, styrene, and vinyl chloride that can contaminate drinking water and promote the growth of microorganisms in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) including harmful pathogens. This poses new concerns about drinking water quality and safety following wildfires that have not been addressed in previous studies. The overarching goal of this CAREER proposal is to investigate the impacts of VOCs released following WUI fires on the drinking water microbiome and water quality in DWDS. To advance this goal, the Principal Investigator proposes to evaluate the hypothesis that 1) the release and continued presence of high concentrations of VOCs in DWDS following wildfires will consume the residual disinfectant in these systems and 2) the remaining VOCs will be metabolized to support the growth of microorganisms present in tap water including water-borne pathogens such as Legionella spp. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the generation of new fundamental knowledge to support the design, development, and implementation of solutions to mitigate and minimize the impact of WUI fires on drinking water quality and safety. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of one graduate student and one undergraduate student at the University of California, Irvine.As wildfires become more frequent and severe in the United States and worldwide due to climate change, there is an urgent and critical need for new fundamental knowledge to understand and mitigate the adverse impact of wildfires on drinking water quality and distribution systems at the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Recent studies have established that the combustion, pyrolysis, and thermal degradation of plastic infrastructure during WUI wildfires release high concentrations of toxic VOCs (e.g., benzene, vinyl chloride) that will continue to contaminate drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) and tap water for several months following these fires. In addition, the released VOCs will consume the residual disinfectant in DWDS, and the remaining VOCs can be metabolized by microorganisms present in tap water, including pathogens that have genetic potential for VOC degradation such as Legionella spp. This CAREER project will evaluate the impact of VOCs released following WUI fires on the drinking water microbiome and tap water quality in DWDS. The specific objectives of the research are to 1) investigate the effect and impact of environmental factors (e.g., drinking water source composition and residual disinfectant/VOC concentrations) and flushing protocols (e.g., stagnation and sequential flushing) on microbial growth in DWDS and tap water following WUI fires; 2) evaluate the role of biofilms in mediating VOC sorption and microbial transformations in DWDS and tap water after WUI fires; and 3) use and leverage multi omics (genomics and metabolomics) to characterize and unravel changes in the structure and function of microbiomes in DWDS and tap water following WUI fires. The successful completion of this project has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of new fundamental knowledge to advance the design and development of solutions to mitigate and minimize the impact of WUI fires on drinking water quality and safety. To implement the educational and outreach activities of this CAREER project, the Principal Investigator (PI) proposes to leverage existing programs and resources at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) to develop English/Spanish bilingual environmental/climate change curricula in partnership with a statewide K-12 teacher network. In addition, the PI proposes to 1) partner with local artists and researchers to co-create a community science project on tap water quality and 2) integrate the research findings from this CAREER project into existing UCI courses devoted to Bioremediation and Microorganisms and Climate Change.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.