Water in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant was irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) doses of 250, 400, and 600 J/m 2 , and the effect on bacterial communities investigated using 16s rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs), coliform, and Escherichia coli counts. The bacteria in the irradiated water were also analyzed following storage for 6 days at 7°C, to approximate the conditions in the distribution system. The log 10 reduction of HPCs at 400 J/m 2 was 0.43 ± 0.12. Phylogenetic examination, including DESeq2 analysis, showed that Actinobacteria was more resistant to UV irradiation, whereas Bacteroidetes was sensitive to UV. Phylum Proteobacteria contained monophyletic groups that were either sensitive or resistant to UV exposure. The amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) resistant to UV irradiation had a greater average GC content than the ASVs sensitive to UV, at 55% ± 1.7 (n = 19) and 49% ± 2.5 (n = 16), respectively. Families Chitinophagaceae, Pelagibacteraceae, Holophagaceae, Methylophilaceae, and Cytophagaceae decreased linearly in relative abundance, with increasing UV dose (P < 0.05, Pearson's correlation). When irradiated water was stored, Chitinophagaceae, Comamonadaceae, and Flavobacteriaceae families decreased in relative abundance, whereas ACK-M1, Mycobacteriaceae, and Nitrosomonadaceae were increasing in relative abundance. This suggests that the impact of UV irradiation cannot only be considered directly after application but that this treatment step likely continues to influence microbial dynamics throughout the distribution system.npj Clean Water (2020) 3:11 ; https://doi.

Streptococcus pyogenes an adapted human pathogen asymptomatically colonizes the nasopharynx, among other polymicrobial communities. However, information on the events leading to the colonization and expression of virulence markers subject to interspecies and host-bacteria interactions are limited. The interference of acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) with the hemolytic activity and viability of S. pyogenes M6 S165 was examined. AHLs, with fatty acid side chains ≥12 carbon atoms, inhibited hemolytic activity by downregulating the expression of the sag operon involved in the production of streptolysin S. Inhibitory AHLs upregulated the expression of transcriptional regulator LuxR. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed the interaction of LuxR with the region upstream of sagA. AHL-mediated bactericidal activity observed at higher concentrations (mM range) was an energy-dependent process, constrained by the requirement of glucose and iron. Ferrichrome transporter FtsABCD facilitated transport of AHLs across the streptococcal membrane. The study demonstrates a previously unreported role for AHLs in S. pyogenes virulence.