Great Lakes Recreational Water Security: Microbial community characterization, source tracking and remediation through meta-genomics

娱乐和饮用水中的微生物（细菌和藻类）污染特别令人关切，因为它可以直接影响人类健康并产生巨大的经济影响（例如，海滩关闭、渔业损失、水处理费用等）。在五大湖，微生物污染大幅增加，埃塞克斯地区的海滩关闭程度是以前的4倍。此外，伊利湖的微囊藻毒素（一种由藻华产生的毒素）已达到危险水平。此外，初步数据表明，目前对大肠杆菌（人类病原体指示物）的监测可能产生假阳性和阴性结果。因此，开发可靠、快速和预测的方法来表征潜在的有害微生物污染物是至关重要的。该建议采用一种综合方法来查明、预测和处理有害微生物爆发，以确保水安全。具体来说，圣克莱尔湖和伊利湖西部将用于开发和应用基于基因组学的水生微生物污染物检测。我们的提案包括三个主题：1)微生物群落特征（鉴定）：我们将使用下一代测序来鉴定细菌和藻类群落随时间和空间的变化。2)微生物群落动力学（预测）：我们将使用流体动力学建模、基于基因组学的来源跟踪和生物物理数据来开发预测模型，为管理人员提供有害微生物爆发的早期预警。3)微生物污染修复（处理）：采用一种新的微生物污染修复方法，我们将识别微生物污染源，我们的预测模型将根据计算的风险水平生成具体修复行动的决策树。最后，我们将与行业合作伙伴共同开发新的“现场”处理技术。我们的综合方法将填补对大型湖泊系统微生物水安全新解决方案的迫切需求，并产生一套工具，可以在五大湖周围无缝应用，在加拿大和世界各地。我们的目标是利用有效的伙伴关系来开发新技术，以解决供水中的病原体和毒素威胁。

Microbial (bacterial and algal) contamination in recreational and drinking water is of particular concern as it can directly affect human health and have large economic impacts (e.g., beach closures, fisheries losses, water treatment costs, etc.). In the Great Lakes, microbial contamination has increased substantially, with beach closures in the Essex region at 4X previous levels. Additionally, dangerous levels of microcystin, a toxin produced by algal blooms, have been recorded in Lake Erie. Furthermore, preliminary data indicate that current monitoring for E. coli (human pathogen indicator) may generate false positive and negative results. It is thus critical that reliable, rapid and predictive methods are developed to characterize potentially hazardous microbial contaminants. This proposal uses an integrated approach to identify, predict and treat harmful microbial outbreaks to ensure water security. Specifically, Lake St. Clair and western Lake Erie will be used to develop and apply genomics-based assays for aquatic microbial contaminants. Our proposal consists of three Themes: 1) Microbial Community Characterization (Identification): We will use Next Generation sequencing to identify the bacterial and algal communities over time and space. 2) Microbial Community Dynamics (Prediction): We will use hydrodynamic modelling, genomics-based source tracking and biophysical data to develop predictive models to provide managers an early warning of harmful microbial outbreaks. 3) Microbial Contamination Remediation (Treatment): Using a novel approach for remediation of microbial contamination, we will identify microbial contamination sources and our predictive models will generate a decision making tree for specific remediation actions based on calculated risk levels. Finally, we will work with Industry partners to develop novel "on site" treatment technologies. Our integrated approach will fill a pressing need for novel solutions for microbial water security in large lake systems and result in a suite of tools that could be applied seamlessly around the Great Lakes, across Canada and around the world. Our goal is to use effective partnerships to develop novel technology to address pathogen and toxin threats in our water supplies.