title: Limnoithona sinensis as refuge for bacteria: protection from UV radiation and chlorine disinfection in drinking water treatment.
abstract: In this study, we tested the potential of Limnoithona sinensis to provide its attached bacteria refuge against disinfection. The experimental results indicated that in water devoid of zooplankton, both UV radiation and chlorine disinfection significantly decreased the viability of free-living bacteria. In the presence of L. sinensis, however, the attached bacteria could survive and rapidly recover from disinfection. This demonstrated that L. sinensis provided protection from external damage to various aquatic bacteria that were attached to its body. The surviving bacteria remained on L. sinensis after disinfection exposure, which enabled a rapid increase in the bacterial population followed by their subsequent release into the surrounding water. Compared with UV radiation, chlorine disinfection was more effective in terms of inactivating attached bacteria. Both UV radiation and chlorine disinfection had little effect in terms of preventing the spread of undesirable bacteria, due to the incomplete inactivation of the bacteria associated with L. sinensis.
authors.affiliation: a Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002713:Chlorine; D033342:Copepoda / Q000382:microbiology*; D004203:Disinfection; D005260:Female; D050296:Microbial Viability; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014871:Water Microbiology; D018508:Water Purification; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002713:Chlorine
keywords: Limnoithona sinensis; UV-C; attached bacteria; bactéries attachées; chlore; chlorine; refuge