Collaborative Research: RAPID: Characterization of Microbial Community Structure and Fecal Contamination of Floodwaters Generated by Hurricane Harvey

1759542（LaMontagne）和1759540（Gentry）。飓风和其他极端天气事件产生的洪水可能含有危险水平的微生物病原体，与污水和人类废物污染有关，以及毒素。为了确定洪水粪便污染的来源以及洪水对接收水质的影响，调查人员将在休斯顿和加尔维斯顿之间的河口周围的监测站收集水样。样本包括在飓风哈维淹没休斯顿之前和之后立即抽取的样本。对早期样本的分析表明，风暴后存在微生物污染。调查人员将应用定量现代分子生物学方法来确定污染这些洪水的微生物的来源，并将每周继续采样，直到微生物群落根据现代方法的评估恢复到风暴前的条件。人们对与洪水接触有关的风险或这些洪水对接收水质的影响知之甚少。粪便指示细菌（FIB），用于评估娱乐沃茨的接触风险，不能确定微生物污染的来源，评估接收沃茨的健康仍然具有挑战性。定量PCR和宏基因组分析可以帮助追踪微生物污染的来源，但很少有研究进行这些分析，特别是与洪水前的样本进行比较。此外，很少有研究应用下一代测序方法，这些方法具有识别反映粪便污染和整体微生物群落多样性和结构的微生物的深度和覆盖范围。这项工作将允许确定在此事件中产生的洪水的粪便污染源，并可能导致更好地了解与未来事件中暴露于洪水相关的健康风险以及飓风对沿海系统健康的影响。

1759542 (LaMontagne) and 1759540 (Gentry). Floodwaters generated by hurricanes and other extreme weather events may contain dangerous levels of microbial pathogens, associated with sewage and human waste contamination, and toxins. To determine the source of fecal contamination of floodwater and the impact of this floodwater on receiving water quality, the investigators will collect water samples at stations surrounding an estuary between Houston and Galveston. Samples include those already drawn before and also immediately after Hurricane Harvey deluged Houston. Analysis of early samples shows that microbial contamination is present post storm. The investigators will apply quantitative modern molecular biology methods to determine the source of the microbes that contaminated these floodwaters and will continue sampling weekly until the microbial community, as assessed by the modern methods, returns to pre-storm conditions. Little is known about the risk associated with exposure by contact to floodwaters or the impact of these floodwaters on receiving water quality. Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), used to assess contact risk for recreational waters, do not determine the source of microbial contamination and assessing the health of receiving waters remains challenging. Quantitative PCR and metagenomic analysis can help track the source of microbial contamination but few studies have conducted these analyses, particularly with pre-flood samples for comparison. Further, few studies have applied next-generation sequencing methods, which have the depth and coverage to identify microbes that reflect fecal contamination and the overall microbial community diversity and structure. This work will allow the determination of the source of fecal contamination of floodwaters generated in this event and could lead to an improved understanding of the health risks associated with exposure to floodwaters in future events and the impact of hurricanes on the health of coastal systems.