Progress 05/04/15 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:- Stake holders who are in charge of water safety and agricultural environments that lead to crop production. - Scientific communities and academia (local, national and international) Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?From all the studies that we conducted, a postdoctoral scholar and several graduate and undergraduate students received training in various aspects of conducing cyanotoxin and cyanobacteria research, including techanical in-depth skills, knowledge, communication skills, and professional development. They received training in developing skills with growing crops in a green house, bacterial culture, cyanotoxin extraction and detectin with ELISA and LC/MS-MS, molecular detection using qPCR and digital droplet PCR, DNA extraction, DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, food quality measurement (fresh produce color), data organization and analysis with statistical tools, literautre reivew, writing manuscripts, organizing references and citation, making posters, and oral presentation. They also received data visulization and bioinformatics training from the Ohio State University. The postdoc researcher has participated in professional development programs (academic writing workshop, monthly orientation, speaking skills, mangement skills, etc) offered by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at the Ohio State University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Most of the results were published in a timely manner through peer-reviewed journals, scientific meetings and conferences (regional, national and international), and media. One invetion was filed at US Patent Office. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For the Objective 1 (determine whether toxins accumulate in plants when the irrigation water contains toxin and harmful cyanobacteria), we completed the study with simulations of the contaminated crop production environments via irrigating with microcystin (MC-LR)-cotaining water and determined the fate of the toxin in the crops and soil. We found that about 50% of MC-LR accumulates in soil and the rest of the toxin ended up in fresh produce, however, the extent of accumulation is different depending on crop types. We tested lettuce (leafy green), carrots (root plant) and green bean (bean). The toxin concentration in the irrigation water was in the range of 0 and 10 ppb, which were environmentally relevant levels. The accumulated toxin in the edible parts of the crops (lettuce and carrots) show moderate to high risk for both childeren and adult population when compared to the reference dose or total daily intake by WHO and USEPA (Lee et al., 2017). In addtion, it was clear that crops show negative food quality. Another contamination source is from the land application of water treatment residual (sludge coming from conventional drinking water treatment plants) from bloom-affected areas. In those regions, drinking water treatment processes are optimized to ensure the absence of cyanotoxins in their finished water. A concern about the sludge generated from water treatment has emerged because the removed cyanotoxins and cyanobacteria can get concentrated in the sludge, called water treatment residuals (WTR), and these WTR are often applied on land for beneficial purposes. Thus, we conducted a study to characterize bloom-affected WTR by focusing on the profiles of cyanotoxins, toxin-producing cyanobacteria, microbiomes, and resistome. In addition, the fate of WTR-originated microcystin in crops and soil was examined by following the similar method that we used in the intiail study. We found that cyanotoxin concentrations were quite high: microcystin (259 μg/kg), saxitoxin (0.16 µg/kg), and β-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) (575 µg/kg). But anatoxin-a was not detected. MC-producing cyanobacteria concentrations were determined: Planktothrix (5.3×107 gene copies/g) and Microcystis (3.3×103 gene copies/g). From the microbiome profile, Proteobacteria was the most predominant and Planktothrix phage was a remarkably dominant virus. Aminoglycoside resistance was the most abundant class, and antibiotic resistance was found in multiple pathogens (e.g. Mycobacterium). WTR land application was simulated by growing carrots with a mixture of WTR and soil in a greenhouse. At harvest, ~80% of WTR-originated microcystin was found in the soil (83-96 μg/kg) and 5% accumulated in carrots (19-28 μg/kg). This study was the first study that provides the insight into the cyanotoxin, microbiome, and resistome profile of the bloom-affected WTR (Ai et al., 2019). This finding suggests that careful WTR management is needed for the beneficial use of WTR for protecting agricultural environments, especially soil and groundwater, and food safety. For the Objective 2 (develop methods to treat the toxins and harmful cyanobacteria), we finished a study about an inexpensive intervention strategy which can be deployed rapidly on-site in various source waters, including in resource-limited settings, such as rural areas. We investigated the feasibility of utilizing plastics as a MC-adsorbing material, for use in water resources used for recreation, agriculture, aquaculture and drinking water. Water containing 20 μg/L MC-LR was exposed to polypropylene (PP) plastic for a six-day period at varying temperatures (22, 37,65oC).Results showed a maximal reduction of nearly 70% of MC-LR after a 6-day treatment with PP at 65°C. Temperature enhanced MC-LR reduction over a 6-day period: 70% reduction at 65°C; 50 % at 37oC; 38% at 22oC. This method can be also applied in source waters, alleviating water treatment burden for treatment plants, lowering treatment costs and reducing chemical usage during the high peak of HAB season (Mrdjen et al., 2018). As a next study, lytic cyanophages were screened and isolated from western Lake Erie. We found lytic cyanophage that destroys their host cell (toxin-producing Microcystis aeruginosa) (Potekin et al., 2018) and characterized their features, examined the interaction mechanisms between the phage and the host using atomic force microscopy and molecular methods (Jiang et al., 2019). Interestingly, the cyanophage is different from previously reported cyanophage in Lake Erie. The newly found cyanophage was identified as Podoviridae. For the Objective 3 (develop methods to decompose toxins and harmful cyanobacteria internalized in fresh produce), we developed an effective and non-chemical based method for treating microcystins using UV, nanoparticle and cold plasma treatment (Jiang et al., 2017). We found that the addition of nanoparticle enhanced the effectiveness of UV in decomposing microcystin. All the prosed objectives were successfully acheived.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ai, Y, Lee, S, Lee, J. (2019) Drinking Water Treatment Residuals from Cyanobacteria Bloom-affected Areas: Investigation of Potential Impact on Agricultural Land Application. Science of the Total Environment (In press)
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Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:- Stake holders who are in charge of water safety and agricultural environments that lead to crop production. - Scientific communities and academia (local, national and international) Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Under this study, a postdoc researcher and several graduate and undergraduate students received training in various aspects of conducing cyanotoxin and cyanobacteria research, including techanical in-depth skills, knowledge, communication skills, and professional development. They received training in developing skills with growing crops in a green house, bacterial culture, cyanotoxin extraction and detectin with ELISA and LC/MS-MS, molecular detection using qPCR and digital droplet PCR, DNA extraction, DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, food quality measurement (fresh produce color), data organization and analysis with statistical tools, literautre reivew, writing manuscripts, organizing references and citation, making posters, and oral presentation. They also received data visulization and bioinformatics training from the Ohio State University. The postdoc researcher has participated in professional development programs (academic writing workshop, monthly orientation, speaking skills, mangement skills, etc) offered by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at the Ohio State University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Most of the results were published in a timely manner through peer-reviewed journals, scientific meetings and conference, and media. One invetion was filed at US Patent Office. Peer-reviewed journal articles: Mrdjen, I, Fennessy, S, Schaal, A, Dennis, R, Slonczewski, JL, Lee, S, Lee J. 2018. Tile Drainage and Anthropogenic Land Use Contribute to Harmful Algal Blooms and Microbiota Shifts in Inland Water Bodies. Environmental Science & Technology. 52(15):8215-8223 Manubolu, M, Lee, J, Riedl, KM, Kua, ZH, Collart, LP, Ludsin, SA. 2018. Optimization of extraction methods for quantification of microcystin-LR and microcystin-RR in fish, vegetable, and soil matrices using UPLC- MS/MS. Harmful Algae. 77:1-10. Potekin, R, Dharmasena, S, Keum, H, Jiang, X, Lee, J, Kim, S, Bergman, L, Vakakis, A, Cho, H. 2018. Multi-frequency Atomic Force Microscopy Based on Enhanced Internal Resonance of an Inner-Paddled Cantilever. Sensors & Actuators: A. Physical. 273:206-220 Mrdjen, I, Lee J. 2018. Simple and Practical On-Site Treatment of High Microcystin Levels in Water Using Polypropylene Plastic. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A. (Epub ahead of print, available online 9 July 2018) Presentations: Ai, Y, Lee, S, Lee, J. Drinking Water Treatment Residuals from HAB-affected Area in Ohio: A Pilot Study for Examining the Impact of Land Application in Agriculture. Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference, Toledo, OH, September 13, 2018. Lee, S, Lee, J. Internalized Microcysits in Lettuce acts as a new source of toxin production & health risk. Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference, Toledo, OH, September 13, 2018. Lee, J. Harmful algal blooms: Environmental health impacts and response strategies. Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, August 3, 2018. Lee, J. Harmful algal blooms in the US: Efforts for protecting human and ecosystem health. K-Water, Daejeon, Korea, July 31, 2018. Lee, J. Cyanotoxins: Exposure pathways, health impacts & management. The National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea, July 30, 2018. Lee, S, and Lee, J. Bacterial and viral community dynamics during bloom seasons in freshwater lakes. ASM Microbe 2018 Conference, Atlanta, GA, June 7-11, 2018. Mrdjen I, Lee J, Fennessy S, Slonczewski J, Schaal A, Dennis R. Tile Drainage and Anthropogenic Land Use Contribute to Harmful Algal Blooms and Microbiota Shifts in Inland Water Bodies. ASM Microbe 2018 Conference, Atlanta, GA, June 7-11, 2018. Lee, J. Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms: Linkage to Human Health and Beyond. 2018 Science-Policy Confluence Conference: Great Lakes HABs: Science-Based Policy Solutions, Ann Arbor, MI, May 1 - May 2nd, 2018. Lee, J. Freshwater HABs: Linkage to Human Health and Beyond. CFAES Annual Research Conference: Meeting the Water Quality Challenge: Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Science to Improve Water Quality in Ohio, Wooster, OH, April 27, 2018. Media: Small bodies of water, big problems: harmful algae producing toxins. The Lantern. August 29, 2018. https://www.thelantern.com/2018/08/small-bodies-of-water-big-problems-harmful-algae-producing-toxins/ Algal blooms a threat to small lakes and ponds, too. OSU News. August 23, 2018. https://news.osu.edu/algal-blooms-a-threat-to-small-lakes-and-ponds-too/ Invention: Methods of Controlling Cyanobacteria Blooms (Patent filed at U. S. Patent and Trademark Office in December 2017). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Dissemination: At least three more manuscripts will be prepared and submitted to peer-reviewed journals. We are also planning to present the results about cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins at the 20th Internatinal Symposium on Health Related Water Microbiology (Septermber 2019) and International Association of Food Protection (June 2019). Manuscripts under preparation: Jiang, X, et al. Discovery of lytic cyanophages in Lake Erie: Interaction mechanisms and structure damage of toxic cyanobacteria. Zhang, F, et al. Cyanobacteria Abundance and Microcystin Production in USA Lakes: The Importance of Land Use Type, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Confirmed by Mixed Model Approach. Lee, S, et al. Heath risk from colonized Microcysits in crops. Funding: Harmful aglal bloom symposium: I am planning to organize and host a symposium at the Ohio State University and the primary focus will be "Harmful algal bloom and human health". For this, I will collaborate with federal and state stakeholders to prepare a proposal to submit (potentailly Infectious Disease Institute) and the funds will be used for inviting speakers and venue. The main goal of the symposium is promoting new and emerging science of exposure pathways of cyanotoxin exposure, health effects and epidemiology of cyanotoxin-related illnesses in the United States and worldwide. I will invite experts from federal and state agencies (USDA, Ohio Department of AgirucltureUS EPA, Ohio EPA, CDC, Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Sea Grant, etc), academica and related stake holders, including drinkin water utilities (Toledo, Celina in Ohio) and groundwater association. Research projects: I will start a new project about safe reuse of water treatment residual, especially focusing on cyanotoxin dynamics after its land application for crop production. I am also planning on submitting a proposal about the use cyanophages for bloom and toxin control that can be used for targeted solution for safe agriculture.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Under the goal of the Objective #1 (determine whether toxins accumulate in plants when the irrigation water contains toxin and harmful cyanobacteria), we finished first set of study by simulating the contaminated crop production environments via irrigating with microcystin-cotaning water and determined the fate of the toxin by determing the accumulated toxin concentrations in the soil and crops. We found that in average 50% of microcystin accumulates in soil and the rest of the toxin ended up in fresh produce, however, the extent of accumulation is different depending on crop types. We tested lettuce (leafy green), carrots (root plant) and green bean (bean). The toxin concentration in the irrigation water was in the range of 0 and 10 ppb. The accumulated toxin in edible parts of the crops all show moderate to high risk for both childeren and adult population. In addtion, it was clear that crops show negative food quality. Under the goal of the Objective #2 (develop methods to treat the toxins and harmful cyanobacteria), we conducted a study for developing an inexpensive intervention strategy which can be deployed rapidly on-site in various source waters, including in resource-limited settings, such as rural areas. We investigated the feasibility of utilizing plastics as a MC-adsorbing material, for use in water resources used for recreation, agriculture, aquaculture and drinking water. Water containing 20 µg/L MC-LR was exposed to polypropylene (PP) plastic for a six-day period at varying temperatures (22, 37, 65oC).Results showed a maximal reduction of nearly 70% of MC-LR after a 6-day treatment with PP at 65°C. Temperature enhanced MC-LR reduction over a 6-day period: 70% reduction at 65°C; 50 % at 37oC; 38% at 22oC. This method can be also applied in source waters, alleviating water treatment burden for treatment plants, lowering treatment costs and reducing chemical usage during the high peak of HAB season. As a next study, lytic cyanophages were screened and isolated from western Lake Erie. We found lytic cyanophage that destroys their host cell (toxin producing Microcystis aeruginosa) and characterized their features, examined the interactions between the phage and the host using atomic force microscopy. Interestingly, the cyanophage is different from previously reported cyanophage in Lake Erie. The newly found cyanophage is identified as Podoviridae. Under the goal of the Objective #3 (develop methods to decompose toxins and harmful cyanobacteria internalized in fresh produce), we developed an effective and non-chemical based method for treating microcystins using UV, nanoparticle and cold plasma treatment. It was was reported in 2017. All the prosed objectives were successfully acheived.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Mrdjen, I, Fennessy, S, Schaal, A, Dennis, R, Slonczewski, JL, Lee, S, Lee J. 2018. Tile Drainage and Anthropogenic Land Use Contribute to Harmful Algal Blooms and Microbiota Shifts in Inland Water Bodies. Environmental Science & Technology. 52(15):8215-8223
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Potekin, R, Dharmasena, S, Keum, H, Jiang, X, Lee, J, Kim, S, Bergman, L, Vakakis, A, Cho, H. 2018. Multi-frequency Atomic Force Microscopy Based on Enhanced Internal Resonance of an Inner-Paddled Cantilever. Sensors & Actuators: A. Physical. 273:206-220
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Mrdjen, I, Lee J. 2018. Simple and Practical On-Site Treatment of High Microcystin Levels in Water Using Polypropylene Plastic. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A. (Epub ahead of print, available online 9 July 2018)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Manubolu, M, Lee, J, Riedl, KM, Kua, ZH, Collart, LP, Ludsin, SA. 2018. Optimization of extraction methods for quantification of microcystin-LR and microcystin-RR in fish, vegetable, and soil matrices using UPLCMS/MS. Harmful Algae. 77:1-10.
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Agriculturral community Environmental protection community Health departments Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One PhD student, one master student and a postdoctoral researcher were trained during this project period. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The findings were shared with stakeholders, such as Ohio Sea Grant, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Enivoronmental Protection Agency and were presented at a conference, "Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference, Toledo, Ohio (September 2016). It was also disseminated through Ohio Deparment of Higher Education. The study results were submitted to two journals (under review). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to further finish the object 2 and conduct on the work proposed in the specific aim 3.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this reporting period, we finished our experiments for the speicific aim 1) and 2). We conducted controlled experiments to quantify microcystin (MC) accumulation patterns in different types of vegetables and their surrounding soils. We exposed lettuce, carrots, and green beans to environmentally relevant concentrations of MC-LR (0, 1, 5, and 10 μg/L), using two irrigation methods (drip and spray). We found that MC-LR accumulation in crops was dose-dependent, with it being greater in the plants than in the soil. MC-LR accumulation varied with vegetable types and between plant parts, with no obvious effect of irrigation method. We performed another study to develop cost-effective and environmentally friendly methods for treating MCs with non-chemical based methods: cold plasma and UV with titanium dioxide. The results show that the degradation efficiency of UV was enhanced by the reusable TiO2 coating at lower intensity, but no significant difference was observed at higher intensity. Cold plasma removed MCs rapidly under experimental conditions, indicating that it is a promising candidate for controlling MCs in water without generating harmful disinfection byproducts.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Lee, S, Jiang, X, Manubolu, M, Ludsin, S, Martin, J, Lee, J. Cyanotoxin in irrigation water: Its impact on crops and soils and public health implications. Scientific Reports.November 2016 (Submitted)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Lee, S, Jiang, X, Manubolu, M, Ludsin, S, Martin, J, Lee, J. Microcystin Accumulation in Vegetables and Soil. Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference, Toledo, Ohio, September 15, 2016.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Water containing microcystin slows crop growth compared to toxin-free water. Ohio Department of Higher Education 2014-2015 Annual Report
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Jiang, X, Lee, S, Mok, C, Lee, J. 2016. Sustainable Methods for Microcystin Decontamination: UV with Reusable Nanoparticles and Cold Plasma. IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo, Chicago, IL, July 16-19, 2016
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Jiang, X, Lee, S, Mok, C, Lee, J. Sustainable Methods for Decontamination of Microcystin in Water using Cold Plasma and UV with Reusable TiO2 Nanoparticle Coating. July 2016 (Submitted)
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