Isolation and characterization of haloacetic acid-degrading Afipia spp. from drinking water

Ping Zhang, Raymond M. Hozalski, Lynne H. Leach, Anne K. Camper, Emma H. Goslan, Simon A. Parsons, Yuefeng F. Xie, Timothy M. Lapara

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Haloacetic acids are a class of disinfection byproducts formed during the chlorination and chloramination of drinking water that have been linked to several human health risks. In this study, we isolated numerous strains of haloacetic acid-degrading Afipia spp. from tap water, the wall of a water distribution pipe, and a granular activated carbon filter treating prechlorinated water. These Afipia spp. harbored two phylogenetically distinct groups of α-halocarboxylic acid dehalogenase genes that clustered with genes previously detected only by cultivation-independent methods or were novel and did not conclusively cluster with the previously defined phylogenetic subdivisions of these genes. Four of these Afipia spp. simultaneously harbored both the known classes of α-halocarboxylic acid dehalogenase genes (dehI and dehII), which is potentially of importance because these bacteria were also capable of biodegrading the greatest number of different haloacetic acids. Our results suggest that Afipia spp. have a beneficial role in suppressing the concentrations of haloacetic acids in tap water, which contrasts the historical (albeit erroneous) association of Afipia sp. (specifically Afipia felis) as the causative agent of cat scratch disease.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)203-208
Number of pages6
JournalFEMS Microbiology Letters
Volume297
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Medicine

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