# Resistance and Virulence of Surviving Bacteria in Water after Various Disinfection Processes

> **NIH NIH SC2** · NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY LAS CRUCES · 2020 · $148,000

## Abstract

Project Summary: Bacterial pathogens in water pose a large world-wide threat to public health,
especially for the population with weak immune system. While current disinfection strategies aim
at mitigating the presence of pathogens, they do not completely eradicate the growth of
microorganisms. This raises a question as to what happens to the surviving microorganisms after
different disinfection processes. It is still unclear that if these surviving microorganisms are the
same, less or more hazardous than the ones before disinfection. The answer to that question has
a significant impact on microbial safety. As regards effective disinfection, what really matters is
reduction of pathogenicity instead of the concentration of microorganisms. The long-term goal
is to gain a better understanding on pathogenicity and susceptibility to antibiotics of surviving
microorganisms after disinfection and elucidate the role of regulatory defense systems of
surviving microorganisms. The proposed research project seeks to reveal the characteristic
variations of bacteria before and after different disinfection processes by conducting systematic
study to provide guidance regarding disinfection strategies. The primary objectives of this
proposal will be achieved by addressing the following specific aims: Specific Aim 1. Investigate
microbial community structure and functions in raw and treated water after various disinfections.
Specific Aim 2. Determine the virulence and antibiotic resistance of surviving bacteria after
disinfections. Specific Aim 3. Elucidate the role of disinfectants in horizontal gene transfer of
antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors. Achieving the above aims will provide
fundamental knowledge on the characteristics of surviving bacteria after disinfections which is
vital to public health. The enhanced knowledge will facilitate the development of novel disinfection
strategies to reduce the pathogenicity of surviving bacteria and minimize the spread of bacteria
with virulence and antibiotic resistance into water. These studies will also benefit the future R01
grant, where we will explore the correlations between disinfectant strategies and pathogenicity of
surviving microorganisms and elucidate the role of regulatory defense systems of surviving
microorganisms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9974535
- **Project number:** 5SC2GM130432-03
- **Recipient organization:** NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY LAS CRUCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Yanyan Zhang
- **Activity code:** SC2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $148,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-13 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9974535

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9974535, Resistance and Virulence of Surviving Bacteria in Water after Various Disinfection Processes (5SC2GM130432-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9974535. Licensed CC0.

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