Tian, JLu, JZhang, YLi, JCSun, LCHu, ZL2016-10-112016-10-1120142014International Journal for Environmental Research and Public Health, vol.11(6), pp.6281 - 62901660-4601https://hdl.handle.net/10292/10082Effectiveness of drinking water treatment, in particular pathogen control during the water treatment process, is always a major public health concern. In this investigation, the application of PCR-DGGE technology to the analysis of microbial community structures and dynamics in the drinking water treatment process revealed several dominant microbial populations including: α-Proteobacteria, β-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria Firmicutes and Cyanobacteria. α-Proteobacteria and β-Proteobacteria were the dominant bacteria during the whole process. Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the dominant bacteria before and after treatment, respectively. Firmicutes showed season-dependent changes in population dynamics. Importantly, γ-Proteobacteria, which is a class of medically important bacteria, was well controlled by the O3/biological activated carbon (BAC) treatment, resulting in improved effluent water bio-safety.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).Drinking water; Advanced treatment; Bacteria; Microbial community structuresJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.3390/ijerph110606281