title: Assessment of the influence of intrinsic environmental and geographical factors on the bacterial ecology of pit latrines.
abstract: Improving the rate and extent of faecal decomposition in basic forms of sanitation such as pit latrines would benefit around 1.7 billion users worldwide, but to do so requires a major advance in our understanding of the biology of these systems. As a critical first step, bacterial diversity and composition was studied in 30 latrines in Tanzania and Vietnam using pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes, and correlated with a number of intrinsic environmental factors such as pH, temperature, organic matter content/composition and geographical factors. Clear differences were observed at the operational taxonomic unit, family and phylum level in terms of richness and community composition between latrines in Tanzania and Vietnam. The results also clearly show that environmental variables, particularly substrate type and availability, can exert a strong structuring influence on bacterial communities in latrines from both countries. The origins and significance of these environmental differences are discussed. This work describes the bacterial ecology of pit latrines in combination with inherent latrine characteristics at an unprecedented level of detail. As such, it provides useful baseline information for future studies that aim to understand the factors that affect decomposition rates in pit latrines.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Group, Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Belen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Torondel
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Group, Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Jeroen H J
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ensink
authors.affiliation: Pathogen Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Ozan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gundogdu
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8LT, UK.
authors.forename: Umer Zeeshan
authors.initials: UZ
authors.lastname: Ijaz
authors.affiliation: Pathogen Genomics Group, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkhill
authors.affiliation: Ifakara Health Institute, off Mlabani Passage, P.O. Box 53, Ifakara, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Faraji
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdelahi
authors.affiliation: Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Viet-Anh
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Group, Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sudgen
authors.affiliation: Bear Valley Ventures, Braeside, Utkinton Lane, Cotebrook, Tarporley, Cheshire CW6 0JH, UK.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.affiliation: Pathogen Genomics Group, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK.|Microbiology Group, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB21 9SB, UK.
authors.forename: Alan W
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5099-8495
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8LT, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quince
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D058448:Biota; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005843:Geography; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013636:Tanzania; D013696:Temperature; D014038:Toilet Facilities; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S