A photo of sewage fungus found in the River Crane (London, England)
Sewage fungus[1] (also known as undesirable river biofilms, URBs) is a polymicrobial biofilm (a microbial mat) that proliferates in saprobic rivers[2] and has been frequently used as a bioindicator[3][4] of organic river pollution for the past century.[5] Its presence has been strongly associated with discharges of untreated or inadequately treated sewage,[6][7][8][9] yet its presence extends beyond these areas, with contributors including airport de-ice fluid runoff,[10][11][12] papermill effluents,[13] and agricultural runoff.[14][15]
The name "sewage fungus" is somewhat of a misnomer,[5] as these growths are not primarily fungal in nature. Instead, they are complex polymicrobial mats bound within a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances. The bacterial taxa most frequently associated with this phenomenon include Sphaerotilus natans, Zoogloea spp., Beggiatoa spp., and Rhodoferax spp.[11][16][17]
^Exton, Ben; Hassard, Francis; Medina-Vaya, Angel; Grabowski, Robert C. (April 2024). "Undesirable river biofilms: The composition, environmental drivers, and occurrence of sewage fungus". Ecological Indicators. 161: 111949. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111949. ISSN 1470-160X.
^Curtis, E.J.C. (May 1969). "Sewage fungus: Its nature and effects". Water Research. 3 (5): 289–311. Bibcode:1969WatRe...3..289C. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(69)90084-0.
^"Freshwater Biology and Ecology Handbook". Foundation for Water Research. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^Quinn, McFarlane (1985). "Sewage fungus as a monitor of water quality". Biological Monitoring in Freshwaters: Proceedings of a Seminar.
^ abButcher, R.W. (August 1932). "Contribution to our knowledge of the ecology of sewage fungus". Transactions of the British Mycological Society. 17 (1–2): 112–IN4. doi:10.1016/S0007-1536(32)80029-X.
^Chonova, Teofana; Labanowski, Jérôme; Cournoyer, Benoit; Chardon, Cécile; Keck, François; Laurent, Élodie; Mondamert, Leslie; Vasselon, Valentin; Wiest, Laure; Bouchez, Agnès (April 2018). "River biofilm community changes related to pharmaceutical loads emitted by a wastewater treatment plant". Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 25 (10): 9254–9264. doi:10.1007/s11356-017-0024-0. ISSN 0944-1344. PMID 28884270. S2CID 3997467.
^Curtis, E.J.C.; Harrington, D.W. (June 1971). "The occurrence of sewage fungus in rivers in the United Kingdom". Water Research. 5 (6): 281–290. Bibcode:1971WatRe...5..281C. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(71)90173-4.
^Harrison, Heukelekian (1958). "Slime Infestation: Literature Review". Sewage and Industrial Wastes. 30 (10): 1278–1302. JSTOR 25033719 – via JSTOR.
^Hammond, Peter; Suttie, Michael; Lewis, Vaughan T.; Smith, Ashley P.; Singer, Andrew C. (2021-03-11). "Detection of untreated sewage discharges to watercourses using machine learning". npj Clean Water. 4 (1). doi:10.1038/s41545-021-00108-3. ISSN 2059-7037. S2CID 232173162.
^Mericas, Dean; Sturman, Paul; Lutz, Michelle; Corsi, Steve; Cieciek, Chris; Boltz, Josh; Morgenroth, Eberhard; Airport Cooperative Research Program; Transportation Research Board (2014-11-03). Understanding Microbial Biofilms in Receiving Waters Impacted by Airport Deicing Activities. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board. doi:10.17226/22262. ISBN 978-0-309-30809-0.
^ abExton, Benjamin; Hassard, Francis; Medina Vaya, Angel; Grabowski, Robert C. (2023-03-01). "Polybacterial shift in benthic river biofilms attributed to organic pollution – a prospect of a new biosentinel?". Hydrology Research. 54 (3): 348–359. doi:10.2166/nh.2023.114. ISSN 0029-1277. S2CID 257347315.
^Nott, Michelle A.; Driscoll, Heather E.; Takeda, Minoru; Vangala, Mahesh; Corsi, Steven R.; Tighe, Scott W. (2020-01-22). Loiselle, Steven Arthur (ed.). "Advanced biofilm analysis in streams receiving organic deicer runoff". PLOS ONE. 15 (1): e0227567. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1527567N. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0227567. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6975536. PMID 31968006.
^Roberts, J.C. (1978). "Sewage fungus growth in rivers below papermill discharges". New Processes for Wastewater Treatment and Recovery: 140–158.
^Rutt, G.P.; Pickering, T.D.; Reynolds, N.R.M. (1993). "The impact of livestock-farming on welsh streams: The development and testing of a rapid biological method for use in the assessment and control of organic pollution from farms". Environmental Pollution. 81 (3): 217–228. doi:10.1016/0269-7491(93)90205-3. PMID 15091808.
^Seager, J.; Jones, F.; Rutt, G. (February 1992). "Assessment and Control of Farm Pollution". Water and Environment Journal. 6 (1): 48–53. doi:10.1111/j.1747-6593.1992.tb00737.x. ISSN 1747-6585.
^Geatches, Gething, Rutt (2014). 'Sewage fungus': A field and microscopic guide. Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Curtis, E.J.C.; Curds, C.R. (December 1971). "Sewage fungus in rivers in the United Kingdom: The slime community and its constituent organisms". Water Research. 5 (12): 1147–1159. Bibcode:1971WatRe...5.1147C. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(71)90080-7.
Sewagefungus (also known as undesirable river biofilms, URBs) is a polymicrobial biofilm (a microbial mat) that proliferates in saprobic rivers and has...
filamentous bacteria colonies are commonly but inaccurately known as "sewagefungus" Straight or smoothly curved filaments 1.5 μm in diameter and 100 to...
contaminate the final effluent quality. This material is often described as sewagefungus but true fungal communities are relatively uncommon. The combination...
often yellow in appearance and often support severe overgrowths of sewagefungus. The contemporary research in the field of assessment techniques and...
suspension) from sewage or similar kinds of wastewater.: 11 The aim is to achieve a certain degree of effluent quality in a sewage treatment plant suitable...
no life of any kind except sewagefungus, nothing but chemicals and any dirt which cannot be put to profitable use. Sewage effluents (and, being usually...
odor comparable to "fresh dog feces", "rotting flesh", or "sewage" when mature. The fungus is native to Asia, and is also found in Australia, Europe and...
freshwaters occasionally making large rafts of filamentous mats known as sewagefungus – usually Sphaerotilus natans. The presence of such organisms is almost...
yeasts. Saccharomyces is from Greek σάκχαρον (sugar) and μύκης (fungus) and means sugar fungus. Many members of this genus are considered very important in...
occasionally in the human gut, feces, sputum and on skin. The fungus grows in soil, water, sewage, various plant substrates, baker's dough, husks of fermentation...
decade to repair all the damage done by the sewage spill. Everything in there is just dead now." In 2013, fungus and slime in the River Crane was attributed...
agricultural processes. He was not the sole deity of feces on its own; as in, sewage. Modern writers later elaborated upon and exaggerated the significance of...
soil-borne filamentous fungus distributed throughout temperate to tropical latitudes worldwide including forest, grassland, sewage sludge and strongly metal...
families of their order. Drain flies sometimes inhabit plumbing drains and sewage systems, where they are harmless, but may be a persistent annoyance. The...
forest floor, raw humus, compost, tundra, sewage) and sand (e.g., dunes, saline sands). It is a saprophytic fungus, forming pustules (composed of sporodochia...
businesses. Plumbing pipes also remove waste in the form of sewage, and allow venting of sewage gases to the outdoors. Fire sprinkler systems also use piping...
-loʊ-/) are a class of β-lactam antibiotics originally derived from the fungus Acremonium, which was previously known as Cephalosporium. Together with...
Nectriaceae. It is the anamorph of Nectria haematococca. It is a common soil fungus and colonist of plant materials. Fusarium solani is implicated in plant...
its PET degrading capabilities as a means of water management issues of sewage fed fisheries. Various strains of this bacterium has been shown to not pose...
cases are caused by Hortaea werneckii, a pigmented fungus, which is a dark yeast found in sewage, soil, rotting vegetation and wood and in places with...
units. These units drastically cut the water consumption and load on the sewage system of cities and towns. Cow urine Urease Jebaraj, Priscilla (July 28...
(dark-walled) fungus. A study from Oxford Academy considered Phialemonium species to have been isolated from air, soil, industrial water, and sewage and although...
Kluyveromyces marxianus has been isolated in dairy products, sisal leaves, and sewage from sugar manufacturing factories. It is also a naturally occurring colonist...
composting toilets, or indirectly in the form of sewage sludge after it has undergone treatment in a sewage treatment plant. Both processes require capable...
reduce nutritional value and may cause illness in animals. A symbiotic fungus in fescue may cause illness in horses and cattle. The successful harvest...
human culture and health in many ways, serving to ferment foods and treat sewage, and to produce fuel, enzymes, and other bioactive compounds. Microbes are...
oomycete. It is common in a variety of freshwater habitats, such as ponds and sewage treatment plants. The mycelium is composed of non-septate hyphae that bear...
host, in which case the only physical finding is the presence of a fungus. If the fungus begins active reproduction, the ear canal can fill with dense fungal...
pathogen (microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus) that causes disease in humans. The human physiological defense against...
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