Insights into the panorama of multiple DNA viruses in municipal wastewater and recycled sludge in Tianjin, China.

Environmental viruses in wastewater and sludge are widely recognized for their roles in waterborne diseases. However, previous studies mainly focused on RNA viruses, and little is known about the diversity of DNA viral communities and their driving factors in municipal wastewater treatment environments. Herein, we conducted a pilot study to explore DNA virus profiles in municipal wastewater and recycled sludge by metagenomics method, and track their temporal changes in northern China. Results showed that 467 viral species were co-shared among all the samples. We identified six families of human viruses with a prevalence of 0.1%, which were rare but relatively stable in wastewater and sludge for six months. Adenoviridae , Parvoviridae , and Herpersviridae were the most dominant human viral families in municipal wastewater and recycled sludge. A time series of samples revealed that the dynamic changes of human DNA viruses were stable based on qPCR results, particularly for high-risk fecal-oral transmission viruses of adenovirus, bocavirus, polyomavirus, human gamma herpesvirus, human papillomavirus, and hepatitis B virus. Concentrations of Adenovirus (5.39–7.48 log 10 copies/L) and bocavirus (4.36–7.48 log 10 copies/L) were observed to be the highest in these samples compared to other viruses. Our findings demonstrated the DNA viruses' high prevalence and persistence in municipal wastewater treatment environments, highlighting the value of enhancing public health responses based on wastewater-based epidemiology. [Display omitted] • The first study on DNA virus profile in Tianjin Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant. • Herpersvirus, adenovirus, and bocavirus were the dominant viral pathogens in WWTP. • DNA virus composition in municipal wastewater was differ from recycled sludge. • Human viruses were highly prevalent and stable in municipal wastewater and recycled sludge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]