A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological Tracers
Hydrological tracers, commonly used for characterizing water flow paths and sources, do not often meet all the requirements of an ideal tracer. Trans-disciplinary approaches are advocated as the way forward to enlarge the number of tracers available for investigating hydrological processes. Since th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/24/3991 |
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| author | Perrine Florent Henry-Michel Cauchie Leslie Ogorzaly |
| author_facet | Perrine Florent Henry-Michel Cauchie Leslie Ogorzaly |
| author_sort | Perrine Florent |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydrological tracers, commonly used for characterizing water flow paths and sources, do not often meet all the requirements of an ideal tracer. Trans-disciplinary approaches are advocated as the way forward to enlarge the number of tracers available for investigating hydrological processes. Since the 19th century, hydrological tracers have been increasingly used, particularly in underground areas. The tracer toolbox at hand includes a large variety of options, including fluorescent dyes, isotopes, salts or bacteriophages, with each tracer offering specific qualities and complementarities. While their potential for hydrological studies has been studied in karstic environments since the 1960s, bacteriophages remain insufficiently understood. According to the selection methodology used in this review, more than thirty experiments have been listed, involving in total around seventeen different bacteriophages. These have facilitated the investigation of groundwater, surface water (i.e., river, lake and marine water), wetland and wastewater hydrological processes. The tracing experiments have also highlighted the possible interaction between bacteriophages and the surrounding environments. Bacteriophages have successfully helped researchers to understand the water flow within watersheds. Certain advantages, such as the sensitivity of detection, the ease of producing high concentrations of bacteriophages to be injected, their specificity for a host and their non-pathogenicity for human and animal cells, make bacteriophages appreciable tracer candidates for tracing experiments. However, the adsorption process or environmental factors such as temperature, pH and UV light considerably impact the fate of bacteriophages, thereby leading to an attenuation of the phage signal. Considering both the flaws and the qualities of bacteriophages, their use as hydrological tracers requires new insight and further discussions regarding experimental tracing conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:44:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3b236bcb2f3d422b9c0010f9f8c3470c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:44:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-3b236bcb2f3d422b9c0010f9f8c3470c2023-11-24T18:41:01ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-12-011424399110.3390/w14243991A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological TracersPerrine Florent0Henry-Michel Cauchie1Leslie Ogorzaly2Environmental Research and Innovation Department (ERIN), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgEnvironmental Research and Innovation Department (ERIN), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgEnvironmental Research and Innovation Department (ERIN), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgHydrological tracers, commonly used for characterizing water flow paths and sources, do not often meet all the requirements of an ideal tracer. Trans-disciplinary approaches are advocated as the way forward to enlarge the number of tracers available for investigating hydrological processes. Since the 19th century, hydrological tracers have been increasingly used, particularly in underground areas. The tracer toolbox at hand includes a large variety of options, including fluorescent dyes, isotopes, salts or bacteriophages, with each tracer offering specific qualities and complementarities. While their potential for hydrological studies has been studied in karstic environments since the 1960s, bacteriophages remain insufficiently understood. According to the selection methodology used in this review, more than thirty experiments have been listed, involving in total around seventeen different bacteriophages. These have facilitated the investigation of groundwater, surface water (i.e., river, lake and marine water), wetland and wastewater hydrological processes. The tracing experiments have also highlighted the possible interaction between bacteriophages and the surrounding environments. Bacteriophages have successfully helped researchers to understand the water flow within watersheds. Certain advantages, such as the sensitivity of detection, the ease of producing high concentrations of bacteriophages to be injected, their specificity for a host and their non-pathogenicity for human and animal cells, make bacteriophages appreciable tracer candidates for tracing experiments. However, the adsorption process or environmental factors such as temperature, pH and UV light considerably impact the fate of bacteriophages, thereby leading to an attenuation of the phage signal. Considering both the flaws and the qualities of bacteriophages, their use as hydrological tracers requires new insight and further discussions regarding experimental tracing conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/24/3991bacteriophageshydrological tracersaquatic ecosystemstransportfatealternative methodological approaches |
| spellingShingle | Perrine Florent Henry-Michel Cauchie Leslie Ogorzaly A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological Tracers Water bacteriophages hydrological tracers aquatic ecosystems transport fate alternative methodological approaches |
| title | A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological Tracers |
| title_full | A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological Tracers |
| title_fullStr | A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological Tracers |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological Tracers |
| title_short | A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological Tracers |
| title_sort | virological perspective on the use of bacteriophages as hydrological tracers |
| topic | bacteriophages hydrological tracers aquatic ecosystems transport fate alternative methodological approaches |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/24/3991 |
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