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Chapter 26 Environmental Microbiology Introduction 26.

1 Water Pollution Unpolluted and Polluted Water Contain Different Microbial Populations o Unpolluted water contains low organic nutrients, thus low numbers of microbes o Water polluted with sewage, agricultural runoff, and industrial pollutants is high in organic matter and contains coliform and noncoliform bacteria Algal blooms occur when accumulated phosphates cause rapid reproduction of algae The blooms supply nutrients to other microbes, which use up oxygen Aquatic animals and plants die and accumulate on the bottom where anaerobic bacteria thrive o Halophiles, psychrophiles, and barophiles thrive in the ocean o Diatoms and dinoflagellates are integral parts of food chains in the ocean o Most marine microorganisms live in the littoral zone, but some can live in the deep benthic and abyssal zones There Are Three Types of Water Pollution o Physical pollution involves sand and soil or cyanobacterial blooms cloud the water o Chemical pollution occurs when inorganic and organic waste enter the water o Biological pollution occurs when microorganisms enter the water from anthropogenic sources o The biological oxygen demand (BOD) of water is the amount of water microbes need to decompose organic matter Diseases Can Be Transmitted by Water o Typhoid fever, cholera, and shigellosis are just a few diseases spread by contaminated water consumption o Erysipeloid is an infection caused by the marine pathogen Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae o Mycobacterium marinum can cause a lesion (granuloma) at the sight of a wound o Vibrio vulnificus can cause intestinal illness if consumed, and can cause wound infections involving gangrene and necrotizing fasciitis o Water can also transmit: Viruses like hepatitis A, rotavirus, gastroenteritis, and polio virus

Eukaryotic microorganisms like Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, and Crytosporidium Toxin-producing dinoflagellates, such as Gambierdiscus toxicus, which leads to ciguatera poisoning in humans 26.2 The Treatment of Water and Sewage Water Purification Is a Three-Step Process o Sedimentation removes large objects and particles through flocculation o Filtration removes microorganisms by passing water through a layer of sand, gravel, and accumulated microbe biofilm called schmutzdecke o Chlorination involves adding chlorine gas to kill remaining organisms Sewage Treatment Can Be a Multistep Process o Domestic human waste usually empties into a cesspool or septic tank o Sewage (and livestock waste) can be collected in oxidation lagoons, where natural digestion occurs o Sewage treatment plants can treat large amounts of domestic wastewater: Primary treatment involves removing insoluble waste and then flocculation of the remaining sludge Secondary treatment degrades biological content by microbial digestion and filtration It results in solid waste, and water which can be further treated and purified Tertiary treatment involves sedimentation, filtration, and chlorination Biofilms Are Prevalent in the Environment o A biofilm is an immobilized population of microbes tangled together in fibers adhering to a surface o Microbes in a biofilm work together for nutrient storage and production and predator protection o Biofilms are used in bioremediation to degrade toxic wastes o Biofilms can form in the human body and on medical instruments The Bacteriological Analysis of Water Tests for Indicator Organisms o Presence of indicator organisms shows that water has been contaminated by feces o Coliform bacteria live in mammalian intestines, but can survive in water o The membrane filter technique and standard plate count are used to determine numbers of bacteria in a water sample o The most probable number test determines number of bacteria by observing carbon dioxide gas production 26.3 The Cycles of Elements in the Environment

The Carbon Cycle Is Influenced by Microorganisms o Cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic organisms take up carbon dioxide o Animals who consume photosynthetic organisms return carbon to the environment through respiration and decompositions o Microbes are primary decomposers of dead organic matter o Microbes decompose manure and natural materials in compost o Microbes decompose carbon-based industrial products like herbicides, pesticides, and plastics The Sulfur Cycle Recycles Sulfate Molecules o Microbes break down proteins and amino acids to yield compounds like hydrogen sulfide o Several bacterial genera transform hydrogen sulfide to sulfate for plants to use in amino acids The Nitrogen Cycle Is Dependent on Microorganisms o Soil microorganisms digest dead organic matter and urea, resulting in ammonia accumulation o In mineralization, much ammonia is converted to nitrite ions by nitrifying bacteria o Nitrobacter then convert nitrite ions to nitrate ions o Denitrifying bacteria can liberate nitrate ions into atmospheric nitrogen o Free-living and symbiotic microorganisms carry out nitrogen fixation to make nitrogen usable for living things o Nitrogen-fixing microbes live symbiotically with legume roots, providing the plant and surrounding soil with usable nitrogen

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