High prevalence of type 41 and high sequence diversity of partial hexon gene of human adenoviruses in municipal raw sewage and activated sludge

• Published in: Journal of applied microbiology 2015-10, Vol.119 (4), p.1181-1195
• Main Authors: Kuo, H.‐W., Chen, L.‐Z., Shih, M.‐H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenoviruses, Human - classification; Adenoviruses, Human - genetics; Adenoviruses, Human - isolation & purification; Capsid Proteins - genetics; DNA Primers - genetics; Genes; Genetic diversity; genetic sequence diversity; Genetic Variation; high throughput sequencing; human adenovirus; Humans; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; partial hexon gene; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; principal coordinate analyses; seasonal/geographical variation; Sewage - chemistry; Sewage - virology; Sludge; Taiwan; Viruses
• ISSN: 1364-5072; 1365-2672
• DOI: 10.1111/jam.12907

Aim This study was aimed to assess seasonal/geographical distribution and sequence diversity of partial hexon gene for human adenoviruses (HAdVs) within raw sewages (RS) and activated sludges (AS). Methods and Results Assessments were based on high‐throughput sequencing (HTS) for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐amplified 128‐bp partial hexon gene fragments and followed by principal coordinate analyses (PCoA) for revealed sequences. Sequencing results showed that the majority of sequences (>90%) for the RS or AS samples were identical to HAdV type 41 of species F, while rest of few sequences belonged to HAdV species‐D and –C were only occurred rarely without significant seasonal/geographical variation. The partial hexon genes were highly diverse as many sequence types and operational taxonomic unit groups were noticed among the matched sequences. Conclusions This study demonstrated that HAdV‐41 was constantly appeared in the RS and AS samples from Taiwan throughout the year without significant seasonal or geographical variations; but, had high sequence diverse noticed for the 128‐bp partial hexon gene fragments. Significance and Impact of the Study High‐throughput‐sequencing results provided better insights of HAdV distribution and genetic diversity for raw sewage and AS samples allowing some probable biases for cloning‐sequencing approach to be defeated and further providing public health awareness regarding viral‐contaminated sewages or sludges.