| Title | Searching for a Reliable Viral Indicator of Faecal Pollution in Aquatic Environments |
|---|---|
| Author | Felana Harilanto Andrianjakarivony1,2, Yvan Bettarel3*, and Christelle Desnues1 |
| Address | 1Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny, and Infection (MEФI), IHU - Méditerranée Infection, 13005 Marseille, France, 2Microbiologie Environnementale Biotechnologie (MEB), Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO), 13009 Marseille, France, 3MARBEC, Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, 34090 Montpellier, France |
| Bibliography | Journal of Microbiology, 61(6),589-602, 2023, |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12275-023-00052-6 |
| Key Words | Virus · Indicators · Pollution · Aquatic ecosystems · Faeces |
| Abstract | The disposal of sewage in significant quantities poses a health hazard to aquatic ecosystems. These effluents can contain a wide range of pathogens, making faecal contamination a leading source of waterborne diseases around the world. Yet monitoring bacteria or viruses in aquatic environments is time consuming and expensive. The standard indicators of faecal pollution all have limitations, including difficulty in determining the source due to lack of host specificity, poor connection with the presence of non-bacterial pathogens, or low environmental persistence. Innovative monitoring techniques are sorely needed to provide more accurate and targeted solutions. Viruses are a promising alternative to faecal indicator bacteria for monitoring, as they are more persistent in ambient water, more abundant in faeces, and are extremely host-specific. Given the range of viruses found in diverse contexts, it is not easy to find one “ideal” viral indicator of faecal pollution; however, several are of interest. In parallel, the ongoing development of molecular techniques coupled with metagenomics and bioinformatics should enable improved ways to detect faecal contamination using viruses. This review examines the evolution of faecal contamination monitoring with the following aims (i) to identify the characteristics of the main viral indicators of faecal contamination, including human enteric viruses, bacteriophages, CRESS and plant viruses, (ii) to assess how these have been used to monitor water pollution in recent years, (iii) to evaluate the reliability of recent detection methods of such viruses, and (iv) to tentatively determine which viruses may be most effective as markers of faecal pollution. |