Household water virome differs by distribution company

Publisher abstract

Water is an important source of microbial infections for humans and contributes to the composition of the human gut bacterial microbiome. However, viral metagenomic data from household water is lacking. We collected 110 water samples from 12 homes at 5 time points, allowing us to investigate the unique characteristics and longitudinal stability of each household’s water virome, and compare across households. Households were supplied by three different utilities and samples included point of use filtered tap and direct from the tap water. We observed that household water contains a community of viruses which is dominated by bacteriophage. Water company source is the main driver of variation of household water viromes. Viral abundance of specific taxa varied by filtration status; household water viromes are remarkably stable over time. Our results indicate that household water could be an overlooked source of bacteriophage which could affect human health by impacting gut bacterial microbiome composition, modulating immunity, or being a source of antibiotic resistance and virulence loci. These findings support the importance of future studies on the impact of the household water virome on the human gut virome.