Metagenomic Applications of Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Many parts of the world do not have adequate infrastructure to treat all the wastewater generated from various sources. Discharge of this untreated or poorly treated wastewater is a source of pathogens that may lead to numerous waterborne diseases. Surveillance of pathogens is essential for water safety and public health. Traditionally bacterial indicators and polymerase chain reaction-based methods have been employed for detection of pathogens from wastewater. Recent advancements in molecular biology involving genome sequencing, also called as Metagenomics are emerging as a powerful tool that allows detection and comprehensive analysis of microbes and viruses present in wastewater. Metagenomics, along with bioinformatics, is now being increasingly employed for characterization of viruses and discovering novel variants. Viruses are the most abundant entities in water, but most of them are not yet characterized, and their roles not yet elucidated. This chapter attempts to highlight the ability of bacteriophages to be used as alternative biocontrol agents in wastewater treatment. It also presents various other roles that phages can have in the wastewater treatment process. The chapter also discusses tradition methods used for detection of pathogens and the revolution that metagenomics has brought in this area. Finally, various applications of metagenomics in wastewater treatment are also discussed.