Pepper Mild Mottle Virus as Indicator of Pollution: Assessment of Prevalence and Concentration in Different Water Environments in Italy

Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a plant pathogenic virus belonging to the family Virgoviridae, has been proposed as a potential viral indicator for human faecal pollution in aquatic environments. The present study investigated the occurrence, amount and diversity of PMMoV in water environments in Italy. A total of 254 water samples, collected between 2017 and 2019 from different types of water, were analysed. In detail, 92 raw sewage, 32 treated sewage, 16 river samples, 9 estuarine waters, 20 bathing waters, 67 groundwater samples and 18 drinking waters were tested. PMMoV was detected in 79% and 75% of untreated and treated sewage samples, respectively, 75% of river samples, 67% and 25% of estuarine and bathing waters and 13% of groundwater samples. No positive was detected in drinking water. The geometric mean of viral concentrations (genome copies/L) was ranked as follows: raw sewage (2.2 × 106) > treated sewage (2.9 × 105) > river waters (6.1 × 102) > estuarine waters (4.8 × 102) > bathing waters (8.5 × 101) > groundwater (5.9 × 101). A statistically significant variation of viral loads could be observed between raw and treated sewage and between these and all the other water matrices. PMMoV occurrence and viral loads did not display seasonal variation in raw sewage nor correlation with faecal indicator bacteria in marine waters and groundwater. This study represents the first report on the occurrence and quantification PMMoV in different water environments in Italy. Further studies are required to evaluate the suitability of PMMoV as a viral indicator for human faecal pollution and for viral pathogens in waters.