Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40881287›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in microbiology2025

Membrane filtration reduces nutrient availability and invasion potential in drinking water systems, without affecting mature biofilms.

Thomas Pluym, Fien Waegenaar, Karlien Dejaeger, Marie Dhoore, Eline Mestdagh, Emile Cornelissen, Nico Boon, Bart De Gusseme

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Thomas Pluym *Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Fien Waegenaar *Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Karlien DejaegerCenter for Advanced Process Technology for Urban Resource Recovery (CAPTURE), Ghent, Belgium.
Marie DhooreCenter for Advanced Process Technology for Urban Resource Recovery (CAPTURE), Ghent, Belgium.
Eline MestdaghCenter for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Emile CornelissenCenter for Advanced Process Technology for Urban Resource Recovery (CAPTURE), Ghent, Belgium.
Nico BoonCenter for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Bart De GussemeCenter for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ensuring biostable drinking water is a growing priority for drinking water utilities, especially in non- or minimally chlorinated distribution systems where microbial regrowth is controlled through nutrient limitation. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) in reducing total organic carbon (TOC) and their impact on the microbiology in a pilot-scale drinking water distribution system over 7 weeks. NF achieved significantly higher TOC removal (75.4%) compared to UF (25.4%), with high performance size exclusion chromatography revealing almost complete removal of all molecular weight fractions in NF-treated water. When introduced into the pilot system, NF-, UF-treated water, and untreated tap water supported similar increasing bulk cell concentrations, but exhibited distinct bacterial community compositions, with NF-treated water showing the most divergent microbiome. Despite these differences in the bulk water, the mature biofilm community (~2 years old) remained stable, underscoring it resilience to changes in nutrient conditions. An invasion assay demonstrated that decay rates of unwanted microorganisms increased with decreasing organic carbon content. For example, decay rates for the introduced microorganism

Indexed as

biostabilitydrinking watermembrane filtrationmicrobiology and biofilmnutrient limitation

Identifiers

PMID40881287
PMCPMC12380793

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.