Temporal dynamics of Legionella (Proteobacteria, Legionellaceae) in two Pampean shallow lakes from Argentina

Temporal dynamics of Legionella (Proteobacteria, Legionellaceae) in two Pampean shallow lakes from Argentina | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Temporal dynamics of Legionella (Proteobacteria, Legionellaceae ) in two Pampean shallow lakes from Argentina Julieta Bianchelli, Mara Inés Sagua, María Pía Quiroga, Guillermina Nuozzi, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4298158/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in Environmental Science and Pollution Research → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Aquatic systems have traditionally played a key role in the development of human life, providing multiple ecosystem services to society and being a reservoir for a wide biodiversity of organisms. Among them, bacteria belonging to Legionella stand out, mainly because they are of great interest both in the field of microbial ecology and public health, since some of them turn out to be pathogenic for humans. The aim of this work was to study the monthly temporal dynamics of Legionella spp. and its relationship with the environmental variables measured in two Pampean shallow lakes (Gómez and Carpincho, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). The analysis was carried out using a quantitative approach by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) and a non-quantitative approach using bacterial diversity data obtained by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Our results showed that the overall Legionella abundance was very high in the studied Pampean shallow lakes. Notably, fluctuations in dissolved organic carbon and temperature influenced the dynamics shifts in Legionella abundances. Correlation analyses between Legionella reads from NGS and copy numbers obtained through qPCR revealed positive relationships, unveiling distinctions attributable to the diverse sequence processing algorithms employed in the analysis of NGS data. Legionella spp. Pampean shallow lakes temporal dynamics Next Generation Sequencing qPCR environmental microbiology Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Introduction The Legionella genus comprises gram-negative, aerobic bacilli that are naturally found in both freshwater (Rowbotham 1980 ) and saltwater environments (Gast et al. 2011 ), as well as artificial water systems (cooling towers, building pipes and whirlpools) (Lee et al. 2011 ). These species are of great public health concern mainly because among the 60 identified species, 24 are known to cause human diseases (Lösch and Merino 2016 ). Legionella spp. infections comprise one of the leading causes of pneumonia in humans, whether they are in-hospital or community-acquired (Stout and Yu 1997 ). Given the non-specific nature of its symptoms, diagnosis is often complicated, resulting in two distinct clinical outcomes: Pontiac fever, an influenza-like illness characterized by fever, headache and myalgia without signs of pneumonia; and Legionnaries’ disease, a potentially fatal pneumonia (Murdoch 2003 ). This pulmonary and multisystemic disease can be potentially fatal, with 3 to 33% of infections leading to death (National Academies of Sciences 2020). The 2021 annual epidemiological report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has informed the highest annual notification rate, with 29 countries reporting 10,004 of 10723 (93%) confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease (ECDC, 2023). In particular, in Argentina during September 2022, a cluster of 11 cases of bilateral pneumonia was detected in the province of Tucumán in which Legionella was finally detected as the causative agent, resulting in the death of 4 patients (WHO, 2022). The recurrence of epidemiological outbreaks associated with Legionella is primarily attributed to their transmission routes, with the most significant source being the inhalation of aerosols containing these microorganisms. This is particularly noteworthy because aerosols can travel significant distances from their point of origin (Caicedo et al. 2016 ). The majority of outbreaks occur in treated recreational waters (swimming pools, spas and recreational parks). Conversely, the risk associated with natural waters, such as rivers, shallow lakes, beaches, among others, is considered less important (Doménech-Sánchez et al. 2008 , Leoni et al. 2018 ). However, natural surface water and groundwater have been identified as potential sources of Legionella outbreaks. This is supported by studies that have linked the incidence of legionellosis to the use of natural water sources (van Heijnsbergen et al. 2015 ). In addition to evidencing the ubiquity of Legionella pneumophila in aquatic ecosystems, research carried out by Fliermans et al. ( 1981 ) demonstrated that this bacterium can also survive in a wide range of physical and chemical conditions. Additionally, Legionella displays resilience in adverse conditions through the evolution of diverse adaptive mechanisms, including its ability to inhabit biofilms and eukaryotic microorganisms (Grabowska-Grucza and Kiersztyn 2023 ). The parasitization of diverse protozoa contributes to Legionella transmission, enabling the bacteria to endure, proliferate and migrate in challenging conditions (William et al. 2022 ). This adaptive capacity enables Legionella to thrive across diverse environments with distinct environmental characteristics. Prior research has identified Legionella in various natural water bodies such as the Antarctic Peninsula (Carvalho et al. 2008 ), hydrothermal waters (Verissimo et al. 1991 ), glacial-origin eutrophic lakes (Grabowska et al. 2020 ), natural European aquatic habitats (lakes, groundwaters, rivers; Kanarek et al. 2022 ) and coastal shallow lakes (Selak et al. 2022 ). Despite this widespread occurrence, to the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have assessed the occurrence of Legionella in Pampean shallow lakes (Argentina). Moreover, there have been no reported outbreaks of Legionella -related disease in the Pampa Region. It is noteworthy that Legionella -induced pneumonia is often underreported on a global scale, potentially by a magnitude of eight to ten times (National Academies of Sciences 2020), due to its symptoms closely resembling pneumonia caused by other pathogens (Walser et al. 2014 ). Accordingly, investigating potential reservoirs where Legionella is present is considered crucial for both sanitary and ecological reasons. Exploring the habitat of Legionella may be helpful in the effective control of this pathogen (Kanarek et al. 2022 ). Consequently, the aim of this work was mainly focused on assessing the presence and temporal dynamics of Legionella spp. by molecular techniques such as qPCR and NGS, while analyzing their relationship with environmental variables in two Pampean shallow lakes (El Carpincho and Gómez, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). We hypothesized that Legionella is present in these natural shallow lakes and that variations in environmental factors, including both physical and chemical water parameters, drive fluctuations in the abundance of these bacteria. Materials and methods Study area The studied shallow lakes are situated in the Pampa Plain (Argentina) and are characterized for being polymictic, turbid phytoplanktonic and hypertrophic (Quirós and Drago 1999 ). Due to their shallow depths – averaging 1.1 meters in Gómez (area 36.6 km 2 ) and 1.2 meters in Carpincho (area 4.4 km 2 ) – and the influence of persistent winds, these lakes exhibit significant homogeneity in most physical and chemical parameters throughout the water column (Quirós 2004 , Schiaffino et al. 2019 ). Gómez (34.6650°S; 61.0287°W) and Carpincho (34.5769°S; 60.8988°W) shallow lakes are located near the city of Junín (34.5972°S; 60.9436°W) and are connected upstream and downstream to the Salado River, serving as natural reservoirs along its main course. Both lakes present floodgates that regulate their water levels, and are also mainly used for recreational purposes (fishing, canoeing, windsurfing, etc.). Additionally, Gómez shallow lake is used for bathing and swimming during spring and summer seasons. A comprehensive and detailed characterization, including principal physical, chemical and biological parameters, has been conducted by Quirós and Drago(Quirós and Drago 1999 ) and Schiaffino et al. (Schiaffino et al. 2019 , 2020 ). Sampling and measurement of environmental variables Integrated water samples (5 liters each) were collected from Balneario de Gómez, a bathing area of Gomez shallow lake, and from Carpincho shallow lake throughout January to December 2016 (N = 12 for each lake). All samples were obtained from the pelagic zone of the lakes at a depth of 30–40 cm below the surface and transported to the laboratory at 4ºC under dark conditions. It should be noted that the sampling year was characterized by an excess of water due to increased rainfall in summer and autumn, with minimums observed during the winter and spring (Quiroga 2020 ). Several in situ environmental variables were registered: conductivity, pH, temperature (HANNA HI991301), dissolved oxygen (DO) (HACH HQ30d multisensor) and water level (Echosounder Fish Finder). Determinations for total nutrients, including Kjeldahl’s total nitrogen (KTN), total phosphorus (TP) and dissolved nutrients such as ammoniacal nitrogen (N-NH 3 ) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), along with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were performed according to Schiaffino et al. ( 2019 ). Molecular approaches To obtain the environmental DNA, samples were collected in duplicates, and 100 mL of water were pre-filtered through 51 µm nets to remove large particles. Subsequently, samples were filtered again using 0.22 µm pore polycarbonate membranes (Millipore). Two sets of 12 DNA filters were generated: one set was utilized in this study for performing qPCR to examine the dynamics of Legionella spp. abundance. The second set had been previously used for NGS of 16 rRNA gene by Illumina MiSeq platform to investigate the composition of planktonic bacteria (Seone Rocha 2018; Quiroga 2020 ; Schiaffino et al. 2020 ; Nuozzi et al. 2022 ). In the current study, only the Legionella reads obtained from NGS data were utilized. Both sets were preserved in cryovials, snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen, and subsequently stored at -80°C until further processing. The hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/chloroform/isoamyl alcohol-based protocol (Fernández Zenoff et al. 2006 ) was employed to extract the DNA retained on the filters. Extracted DNA was purified by filtration (Amicon® Ultra-4, Merck) and then the integrity and concentration of the purified DNA extracts were assessed using agarose gel electrophoresis and fluorometric techniques (Qubit 2.0 Fluorometer, Life Technologies). Results were expressed as nanograms of DNA per microliter of sample (ng DNA / µl sample). Real-time PCR (qPCR) The extracted and purified DNA corresponding to the second set of 12 filters was utilized for the quantification of Legionella spp. through qPCR. Each sample underwent analysis using the Mericon Quant Legionella spp. kit (QIAGEN, ID: 290085). All reactions were run simultaneously on the Bio-Rad CFX96 Touch thermocycler (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA), following the instructions provided by the manufacturer. The kit has a detection limit of 25,000 copy numbers per PCR reaction, therefore a 20-fold dilution of samples in ultrapure water was required to conform to the standard curve. Following qPCR analysis, Legionella copy numbers per PCR reaction were standardized to copy numbers per nanogram of DNA. Subsequently, conversion to Colony Forming Units (CFU) was performed using the equation described by AbuOdeh et al. ( 2017 ), where CFU Legionella / mL sample = [( Legionella copy number / mL sample) / 20]. This transformation was implemented as a proxy to facilitate a comparison of Legionella levels in the studied shallow lakes with those reported in natural surface freshwater environments (Schwake et al. 2021 and citations therein) and artificial water systems (AbuOdeh et al. 2017 ) Comparative analysis of Legionella abundance obtained by qPCR versus Legionella reads obtained by NGS As previously mentioned, the second set of replicates collected from both shallow lakes underwent NGS. The partial 16S rRNA gene was sequenced by Illumina MiSeq 2 x 300 paired-end sequencing (Macrogen Inc., Corea), using the primers 341F/805R (Herlemann et al. 2011 ), which cover the hypervariable regions V3-V4. After quality control, reads were analyzed using three different sequence processing algorithms: the UPARSE algorithm (Edgar 2013 ) that defined Operational Taxonomic Units clustered to a 97% similarity threshold (97% OTUs) as depicted in Seone Rocha (2018), the UNOISE algorithm (Edgar 2016 ) defining zero-radius OTUs (zOTUs) as shown in Quiroga et al. (2020) and Schiaffino et al. ( 2020 ) and clustering of sequences using the DADA2 methodology (Callahan et al. 2016 ) to obtain Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs), as shown in Nuozzi et al. ( 2022 ). Regardless of the type of data processing used, in all resulting matrices, sequences belonging to archaea, mitochondria and chloroplasts were filtered and removed. Subsequently, data were rarefied using R v3.4.4 software along with the foreign (R Core Team 2018), permute (Simpson 2019 ), lattice (Sarkar 2008 ), packfor (Dray et al. 2007 ) and vegan (Oksanen et al. 2015 ) packages. From all the resulting reads, a subset of data containing only sequences belonging to Legionella was utilized in the present work. This information, obtained from previous studies conducted in the same shallow lakes and sampling dates, was compared with the Legionella copy numbers obtained through qPCR. Statistical analyses The standardized Legionella abundance data, along with environmental variables, were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA), in order to evaluate the relevance of these variables and their overall trends, and to simplify multidimensional data structures. A multiple regression model was performed with Legionella abundance obtained by qPCR as the dependent variable (response) and environmental variables as independent (explanatory) variables. The relevant predictors were selected using a stepwise procedure. The dependent variable ( Legionella copy number per ng DNA) was transformed with natural logarithm (ln) to model a continuous response. The Shapiro-Wilks test was performed to validate the normal distribution of residuals, and the Durbin-Watson test was used to rule out the presence of autocorrelation between the residuals corresponding to each value and the previous one, ensuring the independence of the observations. Finally, comparisons between Legionella abundance obtained by qPCR and Legionella reads obtained by NGS, were conducted by Spearman's paired correlations. The results were then visualized through plots created with GraphPad Prism 8 software. All analyses were performed with the R v.4.2.2 software (R Core Team 2022 ) and the tidyverse package (Wickham et al. 2019 ). PCA and MFA were performed using the package FactoMineR (Lê et al. 2008 ) and their results plotted with the help of factoextra (Kassambara and Mundt 2020 ). The Durbin-Watson test was performed using the package lmtest (Zeileis and Hothorn 2002 ). Results Physical and chemical variables Environmental variables of Carpincho and Gómez shallow lakes over the 12-month sampling period are presented in Table 1. The results indicated alkaline conditions (pH>8.56) and oligohaline or brackish characteristics (salinity between 1.66 and 3.04 g/L) in the water, with similar physical and chemical values in both shallow lakes (Table 1). Additionally, Carpincho and Gómez shallow lakes exhibited similar temporal dynamics in the measured physical and chemical variables, such as lower water temperature (Supplementary Fig. 1a,b), pH (Supplementary Fig. 1c,d), salinity (Supplementary Fig. 1e,f) and DOC levels (Supplementary 1g,h) during winter months. Moreover, lower DO values (Supplementary Fig. 1i,j) were observed during the summer period. Temporal dynamics of Legionella For the qPCR experiment, the reaction efficiency was E= 93.4% and the regression coefficient of the standard curve R 2 =0.986 (slope=-3.491; intercept=37.853). The qPCR results exhibited a notably consistent fluctuation of the Legionella bacteria copy numbers in both lakes throughout the 12-month sampling period. Higher values were registered in May, July and October, while lower numbers were observed in January, February and December (Figure 1a and 1b). The overall Legionella abundance was very high in the studied Pampean shallow lakes. Mean values were 3878 copies/ng DNA for Carpincho and 2418 copies/ng DNA for Gómez shallow lakes. Transformed values of Legionella to CFU/mL and copy number from qPCR experiment are shown in Fig. 1a and 1b for Carpincho and Gómez, respectively. CFU numbers were also elevated, ranging from 14 to 32672 UFC/mL (average 10343 UFC/mL) in Carpincho and from 76 to 50462 UFC/mL (average 11976 UFC/mL) in Gómez shallow lakes. Environmental variables analyses related to Legionella copy numbers The first three principal components (PC) of the PCA analysis were selected for both shallow lakes, representing 84.2% of the total variability in Carpincho (PC1: 52.0%, PC2: 19.8% and PC3: 12.4%), and 85.2% in Gómez (PC1: 57.8%, PC2: 16.3% and PC3: 11.1%). Examining the correlations of each component with the original variables in Carpincho, the first component demonstrated strong negative correlations with temperature (r=-0.95), pH (r=-0.89), salinity (r=-0.85) and DOC (r=-0.76), while displaying positive correlations with DO (r=0.77), N-NH 3 (r=0.72) and Legionella abundance (r=0.66). The second component showed positive correlations with KTN (r=0.88) and SRP (r=0.63) (Fig. 2a). The third PC was strongly and negatively associated with water level (r=-0.79). In Gómez shallow lake, the first component presented positive correlations with temperature (r=0.92), salinity (r=0.92), pH (r=0.83) and DOC (r=0.82), and negative correlations with DO (r=-0.87), water level (r=-0.84), N-NH 3 (r=-0.72) and Legionella copy numbers (r=-0.72). The second component showed positive correlations with KTN (r=0.80) and SRP (r=0.71) (Fig. 2b). The third PC was moderately correlated with SRP (r=0.55), KTN (r=-0.51) and DOC (r=0.50). Overall, samples from both shallow lakes demonstrated a temporal ordination primarily influenced by temperature, water nutrients (KTN, SRP and N-NH 3 ), chemical factors (pH, salinity, DO) and biological variables ( Legionella abundance). In both lakes, samples corresponding to May, June and July clustered together with higher concentrations of N-NH 3 and Legionella abundances; concurrently, these periods had the lowest temperature, pH, salinity and DOC values. Conversely, samples from January, February and March showed the highest values of temperature, pH, salinity and DOC, along with the lowest Legionella abundance and N-NH 3 concentrations. Samples collected in September and October also presented elevated Legionella numbers (Figure 1), but their salinity and KTN values surpassed the averages (Table 1), placing them generally near the center of the biplot between the first and second components. A combined analysis of Carpincho and Gomez shallow lakes was performed using MFA. The two first dimensions explain 71.3% of variability (53.7% the first component and 17.6% the second). Information from both lakes contribute strongly to the first dimension of MFA (normalized coordinates of 0.98 and 0.98), and moderately to the second dimension (normalized coordinates of 0.37 for Carpincho and 0.28 for Gomez). The close proximity of the lakes in the factorial plane indicates that they share a similar structure in the behavior of the environmental variables and of Legionella abundance. The analysis of the consensus structure shows that the first dimension of MFA is strongly and positively correlated with temperature (r=0.95), pH (r=0.86), salinity (r=0.89) and DOC (r=0.81), and negatively with water level (r=-0.65), DO (r=-0.81), N-NH3 (r=-0.73) and Legionella abundance (r=-0.69). The second dimension is strongly and positively correlated with SRP (r=0.73) and KTN (r=0.87). On the other hand, comparison of partial and consensus structures shows that, in Carpincho, environmental variables DO, KTN and SRP are strongly correlated, contrary to Gomez’s correlation structure. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was also conducted between the measured environmental variables and the ln of Legionella abundance. The Shapiro-Wilks test confirmed the normal distribution of residuals (W=0.9653, p=0.55) and the Durbin-Watson test (d=2.43, p=0.78) ensured compliance with the assumption of independence of observations. The lake was introduced in the model as a potential predictor, but resulted not significant (p>0.05). The model selected only the variables DOC and temperature as predictors of variations in Legionella abundances in both shallow lakes. An adjusted R 2 of 0.72 was obtained, leaving the model equation as follows (1): Log e Legionella abundance = 9.02 – 0.19 * DOC + 0.57 * temperature – 0.02 * temperature 2 The model indicates that the effect of DOC and temperature on the abundance of Legionella is the same in both shallow lakes. For a constant temperature, an increase in DOC produces a decrease in the mean level of the ln of Legionella abundance. The effect of temperature on the ln abundance of Legionella , however, is not linear: for a constant DOC level, an elevation in temperature can lead to either an increase or decrease in the ln abundance of Legionella , depending on the original temperature range. Up to 15°C, Legionella abundance increases as temperature rises. Conversely, in warmer conditions surpassing 15°C, the abundance of Legionella decreases as temperature increases (Fig. 3). This suggests that the response of Legionella to temperature differs depending on the time of the year, and possibly in relation to other environmental variables. For the lowest observed DOC levels (during cold months), increase in temperature produce a large effect in the mean of Legionella abundance. Conversely, at higher values of DOC (warm months), a rise in temperature induces a small decrease in mean Legionella abundance (Fig. 3). NGS analysis and comparison with Legionella abundances obtained by qPCR Data derived from NGS, processed using the 97% OTUs, zOTUs and ASVs approaches, revealed divergent outcomes, both in the overall richness of reads and in those belonging specifically to Legionella spp. In both shallow lakes, the NGS analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, employing a 97% similarity threshold of OTU grouping, unveiled a total bacterial richness of 3605 97% OTUs, with 22 belonging to Legionella . As for the cleaning using the zero-radius OTUs, it yielded a total bacterial richness of 7528 zOTUs, including 16 linked to Legionella . It should be noted that in both cleaning approaches, no particular Legionella species were identified. The sequence processing using the ASVs approach ultimately yielded the highest bacterial richness, generating a total of 7806 ASVs, with 44 corresponding to Legionella spp. Notably, this approach allowed for species differentiation, including three previously identified species ( L. adelaidensis , L. tunisiensis and L. quateirensis ) and two still unclassified species ( L . KR14 and L . D2863). In general, we observed comparable patterns in the dynamics of qPCR abundance and the number of Legionella reads obtained through NGS (Fig. 4 a-f). However, correlations between the number of Legionella reads obtained from different sequence processing algorithms (NGS) and the Legionella copy numbers obtained by qPCR revealed distinct outcomes (Table 2). The zOTU bioinformatic approach demonstrated the strongest correlation with Legionella qPCR abundances in both lakes (Carpincho r=0.93; Gómez r=0.91; Table 2), with peak abundances observed in the months of May, July and October, aligning with the dynamics of Legionella determined by qPCR (Fig. 4c, d). Cleaning by grouping 97% OTUs showed correlation coefficients of 0.68 for Carpincho and 0.58 for Gómez shallow lakes (Table 2). Maximum values of NGS Legionella reads, except for the month of January, coincided with those recorded for the abundance of Legionella by qPCR (Fig. 4a,b). Finally, processing by ASVs exhibited the lowest correlation coefficient for Carpincho shallow lake (r=0.26, Table 2). Although a similar trend was observed between both abundances, disparities were noted during the months of January, October and December (Fig. 4e). On the other hand, for Gómez shallow lake, the ASV bioinformatic approach yielded a positive correlation (r=0.63, Table 2), with coincident peaks in April, May, July and October for qPCR copy number and ASVs reads (Fig. 4f). Discussion Influence of environmental variables on Legionella abundance In this study, we investigated the dynamics of aquatic bacteria belonging to the Legionella genus, and explored the environmental variables influencing their abundances. Our results support the initially proposed hypothesis, confirming the presence of Legionella in the studied Pampean shallow lakes and revealing significant temporal fluctuations and abundance peaks of Legionella , notably occurring during the months of May, July and October. Furthermore, our study underscores a substantial influence of environmental factors on the Legionella abundance in water samples from both lakes. Temperature and DOC mainly modulated Legionella spp. abundance in the studied Pampean shallow lakes. Both variables emerged as the most important included in the multiple regression model, emphasizing their role in shaping the dynamics of Legionella in the studied lakes. We found that the effect of temperature on the ln abundance of Legionella is quadratic. For a constant DOC level, at temperatures up to 15°C the abundance of Legionella tends to increase with rising temperatures. However, in warmer conditions exceeding 15°C, the abundance of Legionella diminishes as temperatures continue to rise. This implies that Legionella ’s response to temperature varies temporally or seasonally, and may also be influenced by other environmental factors, such as DOC. When temperature remains constant, an increase DOC levels results in a decrease in the average level of the Legionella abundance. However, it is important to remark that the strong correlation structure between temperature and other environmental factors induces a collinearity issue during the model selection process. Adding more variables to a model that already includes temperature as a predictor, does not provide significant new insights, as many of these variables are closely correlated to temperature. This highlights the complex interplay of environmental factors on Legionella populations (Schwake et al. 2021 ). Previous studies found changes in the survival, viability and metabolism of L. pneumophila in culture, responding to variations in temperature in marine, thermal and drinking waters (e.g., Heller et al. 1998 ; Ohno et al. 2003 ; Bennett and Bentham 2014 ). In addition, Legionella has the ability to survive and grow as parasites within free-living protozoa and within biofilms that develop in water systems (WHO 2022), having the potential to survive in a wide range of environmental factors. Legionella lives and grows in water systems at an ideal temperature range from 20 to 50ºC, when nutrients are available (WHO 2022). However, it was found that cold temperature freshwater sources (< 20ºC) have the potential to contain Legionella (Schwake et al. 2021 ). In the Netherlands, 100% of river water with temperatures of 3 to 4ºC were found to have L. pneumophila , and relatively high concentrations up to 2.5 x 10 3 cells/mL were recorded (Wullings and van der Kooij. 2006). These authors found that a large diversity of yet-uncultured Legionellae are common members of the microbial communities in surface waters and groundwaters treated at water temperatures of below 15°C. Accordingly, Bennett and Bentham ( 2014 ), performed laboratory microcosms and reported that both increasing salinity and temperature reduced survival of Legionella . They suggested that the protective role of amoebae and biofilm in Legionella survival and multiplication cannot be disregarded in this context. A survey of five lakes and rivers in differing climate zones of Southern Korea demonstrated the ubiquity of L. pneumophila using qPCR results (Bahk et al. 2020 ). All the sites had detectable L. pneumophila in at least one sample, with higher positivity observed during winter season. This seasonal pattern throughout a variety of climates shows that other environmental factors beyond temperature play a key role in Legionella populations (Wullings and van der Kooij 2006 ). Additionally, DOC serves as a necessary element for the growth of heterotrophic bacteria, playing an important role in the carbon cycle through the microbial loop, over which it returns to higher levels of the food web. Phytoplankton, particularly cyanobacteria, serve as major contributors to autochthonous organic matter, supplying DOC and other nutrients to the ecosystem. In our study, a negative association was found between Legionella abundance and DOC concentration in the water, for both Carpincho and Gómez shallow lakes. This association was partially explained by Tison et al. ( 1980 ), suggesting that a decrease in DOC concentrations may result from increased utilization of algal-derived extracellular products by the heterotrophic microbiota, including bacteria belonging to Legionella . On the other hand, Gómez and Carpincho shallow lakes exhibited remarkably similar fluctuation in physical, chemical and biological variables (i.e., abundance of Legionella spp.), likely due to their connection to the Salado River and interconnection with each other, as it was previously reported by Schiaffino et al. ( 2020 ) and Sagua et al. ( 2023 ). Comparison of Colony Forming Units (CFU) of Legionella with other water environments As expected, among the 24 collected samples, the months with the highest Legionella counts in CFU/mL coincided with those which presented the maximum Legionella copy numbers. The obtained values were much higher than those reported for other natural and artificial water environments (Schwake et al. 2021 , AbuOdeh et al. 2017 ). In particular, the majority of these samples had Legionella concentrations exceeding those reported in cooling towers from Qatar by AbuOdeh et al. ( 2017 ), which ranged from 0.02 to 199.50 CFU/mL. However, fluctuations in these levels across different months were consistent with the broader variability observed in Legionella concentrations across various surface freshwater ecosystems (Schwake et al. 2021 , and citations therein). These higher abundances of Legionella may be explained because when compared against other lakes worldwide, Pampean shallow lakes depart from most of them as having higher TP, KTN, and chlorophyll-a concentrations and much lower transparency, and therefore they stand as extremes of the trophic-state continuum (Diovisalvi et al. 2015 ). These environmental conditions likely support high abundances of Legionella. The elevated levels of Legionella compared to other studies represent a potential health concern despite the fact that no legionellosis outbreaks had yet been registered in the area. Notably, the Committee of Management of Legionella in Water Systems (National Academies of Sciences, 2020) identifies a Legionella concentration exceeding 50 CFU/mL as a critical threshold, indicating a level of concern that demanded prompt remediation efforts. Despite the potential overestimation of Legionella occurrence by qPCR due to the detection of nonviable organisms, given the high values detected of these potentially pathogenic bacteria, we suggest further monitoring of the studied shallow lakes, as conventional microbiology cultures were not performed. Especially since there is no epidemiological monitoring and scarce environmental microbiological control by the local authorities. We hope that with this study a more exhaustive control can be carried out in the future. Comparative of NGS and qPCR abundances As mentioned above, qPCR data was compared with a subset of NGS reads from previous studies, employing different processing methodologies: OTUs with a 97% similarity threshold (Seoane Rocha 2018 ), zero-radius OTUs (Quiroga 2020 ; Schiaffino et al. 2020 ) and ASVs (Nuozzi et al. 2022 ). It becomes evident that each bioinformatic analysis method places different importance on species distinctiveness, overall diversity and fidelity. This variability contributes to differences in outcomes and interpretations of genetic information across various methodologies. Specifically, for Carpincho and Gómez shallow lakes, the zOTU approach showed the highest correlation between the number of copies obtained by qPCR and the number of reads generated by NGS. This is attributed to the denoising process, which eliminates sequencing errors and enhances read accuracy. Classical processing, grouping OTUs at a 97% similarity threshold (Edgar 2016 ; Logares 2018 ), displayed a significant medium correlation coefficient in both shallow lakes. However, none of these processing methodologies (zOTU or 97% OTU) were able to identify any species. Processing using the DADA2 algorithm (Callahan et al. 2016 ) allowed for the determination of more ASVs (7806 total, 44 corresponding to Legionella ), although it led to a reduction in correlation with the number of copies obtained by qPCR in Carpincho shallow lake. Nevertheless, this methodology facilitated the identification of Legionella species. DADA2 controls errors sufficiently to resolve single nucleotide differences in the sequenced gene region without the need to impose a similarity threshold as required in the case of 97% OTUs (Callahan et al. 2017 ). The ASVs approach successfully identified Legionella species in both shallow lakes, including previously characterized species such as L. adelaidensis , L. tunisiensis and L. quateirensis , along with unclassified species like L. KR14 and L. D2863. Legionella adelaidensis was first characterized by Benson et al. ( 1991 ) from a sample taken from a cooling tower of an air conditioning system and is included in the list of species detected by the Mericon Quant Legionella spp. used in our work. Similarly, L. quateirensis was identified in a water sample from a shower in a hotel in Quarteira, Portugal, and is one of the five species of the Legionellaceae family described by Dennis et al. ( 1993 ). None of the aforementioned species has been found to be pathogenic for humans. Legionella tunisiensis was isolated via amoeba co-culturing in Sabkha Lake, a hypersaline lake in Tunisia, North Africa (Campocasso et al. 2012 ). This novel species is interesting due to its large amount of potential coding sequences and unusually high number of resistance genes (50% more sequences and 37 more genes than L. pneumophila ). While not determined, a large number of encoded proteins could be related to mechanisms for overcoming osmotic stress (Schwake et al 2021 , and cites therein). Regarding Legionella KR14 and Legionella D2863, neither of them are described in the literature nor classified in databases (Schoch et al. 2020 ), leaving their characteristics and pathogenicity unknown to date. Thus, further investigation is needed to fully unravel the composition of Legionella species in the studied shallow lakes. Conclusions This study, the first of its kind conducted in Pampean surface aquatic systems, revealed a notably high overall Legionella amount in the studied shallow lakes. We found a distinct temporal pattern of Legionella abundances, with maximum values occurring in May, July and October in both lakes, used for recreational purposes. We also found that the Legionella dynamics were predominantly driven by water temperature and DOC. The molecular approaches (NGS and qPCR) employed to investigate the Legionella dynamics demonstrated congruence and consistency, albeit some variations were noted among the different sequence processing algorithms used for NGS data. The potential for human exposure to Legionella in natural surface aquatic systems can manifest in many ways, ranging from direct contact through recreational water activities to more indirect exposure via aerosolization from water bodies. Consequently, we advocate for continued monitoring of Pampean shallow lakes, including culture-based studies, to better assess and mitigate the risk posed by the presence of Legionella in these natural surface waters. Declarations Funding This study was financed by the National Agency of Scientific and Technical Promotion (ANPCyT PICT 0891-2017, PICTO 00006-2019) and the National University of North-Western Buenos Aires (UNNOBA SIB 2053-2022), Argentina. We also thank QIAGEN for the 2018 Young Scientist Contest award won by Mara Inés Sagua and National Interuniversity Council (CIN) for providing Encouragement of Scientific Vocations (EVC) fellowships. Competing Interests The authors declare no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Author Contributions All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Sample acquisition was performed by María Pía Quiroga and María Romina Schiaffino. Laboratory analyses were executed by Julieta Bianchelli, Mara Sagua and Guillermina Nuozzi. Statistical analyses were performed by Julieta Bianchelli, Julia Fernandez and María Romina Schiaffino. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Julieta Bianchelli. Mara Sagua and Julieta Bianchelli contributed equally to this work. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript. Ethical approval Not applicable Consent to participate All the authors of the article agree to participate in the journal submission Consent for publication All the author listed have approved the manuscript that is enclosed Competing interest The authors declare no competing interest Data availability The data presented in this study are available upon request from the corresponding author. References AbuOdeh R, Aziz H, Moussa H, et al (2017) First study in Qatar to reveal high Legionella counts in cooling towers. 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Carpincho Gómez Variable Min Max Mean ±SD Min Max Mean ±SD Water level (m) 1.35 1.52 1.40 ±0.05 1.35 1.55 1.43 ±0.06 Temperature (ºC) 8.70 26.30 16.93 ±6.27 8.7 26.5 17.32 ±6.37 pH 8.56 8.93 8.77 ±0.11 8.61 8.91 8.76 ±0.11 Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) 7.11 11.96 9.41 ±1.31 8.49 11.06 9.74 ±0.96 Total phosphorus (mg/L) 0.60 1.48 0.96 ±0.27 0.59 1.08 0.88 ±0.14 Soluble reactive phosphorus (mg/L) 0.20 1.18 0.59 ±0.28 0.26 1.10 0.63 ±0.24 Kjedahl’s total Nitrogen (mg/L) 2.85 4.89 3.86 ±0.62 2.84 7.39 4.35 ±1.35 Ammoniacal nitrogen (mg/L) 0 0.28 0.05 ±0.09 0 0.29 0.06 ±0.09 Salinity (g/L) 1.66 2.88 2.39 ±0.43 1.67 3.04 2.41 ±0.46 Dissolved organic carbon (mg/L) 22.77 33.08 27.05 ±3.23 22.16 32.46 26.44 ±2.65 Table 2 Spearman's correlation coefficients (r) for 97% similarity OTU (97% OTU), zOTU and ASV bioinformatic approaches versus Legionella abundances obtained by qPCR in both shallow lakes. ns = non-significant, * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001. N=12 Carpincho Gómez r r 97% OTU 0.68 * 0.58 * zOTU 0.93 *** 0.91 *** ASV 0.26 ns 0.63 * Supplementary Files SupplementarymaterialBianchellietal2024.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in Environmental Science and Pollution Research → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Accept 13 Sep, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Aug, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Aug, 2024 Editor invited by journal 01 Aug, 2024 First submitted to journal 31 Jul, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4298158","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":334750135,"identity":"2e306a69-3138-4ee5-b089-ac266cb7b327","order_by":0,"name":"Julieta Bianchelli","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4560-1099","institution":"IBioBA-MPSP: Instituto de Investigacion en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Julieta","middleName":"","lastName":"Bianchelli","suffix":""},{"id":334750136,"identity":"03d56af3-49a2-4cb5-ba7c-89d827fb8d55","order_by":1,"name":"Mara Inés Sagua","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"UNNOBA: Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mara","middleName":"Inés","lastName":"Sagua","suffix":""},{"id":334750137,"identity":"0f2c8f9f-de35-40bb-98d3-1bb85c10a350","order_by":2,"name":"María Pía Quiroga","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"UNNOBA: Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"María","middleName":"Pía","lastName":"Quiroga","suffix":""},{"id":334750138,"identity":"ac9f76dd-9b0c-4a83-9bad-e92f6e798afc","order_by":3,"name":"Guillermina Nuozzi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"UNNOBA: Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guillermina","middleName":"","lastName":"Nuozzi","suffix":""},{"id":334750139,"identity":"fecf008a-81fe-46ee-9ac7-0eee560d0855","order_by":4,"name":"Julia Fernández","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Nacional de Rosario Facultad de Ciencias Bioquimicas y Farmaceuticas","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Julia","middleName":"","lastName":"Fernández","suffix":""},{"id":334750140,"identity":"e46d1951-204a-4fc1-a954-c232ad09ab98","order_by":5,"name":"María Romina Schiaffino","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"UNNOBA: Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"María","middleName":"Romina","lastName":"Schiaffino","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-04-20 15:52:57","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4298158/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4298158/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-35007-w","type":"published","date":"2024-09-27T15:57:21+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":61972455,"identity":"f51e1cc7-73c4-43dc-80df-285799bf52c5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-07 17:15:58","extension":"jpeg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":620000,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLegionella \u003c/em\u003ecopy number per ng DNA and converted CFU/mL for Carpincho (a) and Gómez (b) shallow lakes from January to December 2016. N=12. Full dark lines with triangles correspond to copy number per nanogram of DNA obtained by qPCR and grey dashed lines with circles correspond to CFU/mL.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4298158/v1/8d5011b36a1fcab3a8aaca72.jpeg"},{"id":61972479,"identity":"cfd1cc50-836d-4496-9d4c-c85e094b9f79","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-07 17:15:58","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":154446,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePrincipal Component Analysis between the first two principal components of Carpincho (a) and Gómez (b) shallow lakes. Abbreviations correspond to: soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), total nitrogen (KTN), dissolved oxygen (DO), ammoniacal nitrogen (N-NH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e), water level and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). N=12\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4298158/v1/156176651342216a81db66de.png"},{"id":61972476,"identity":"a07df90e-9986-46f5-bd54-6e0ef534ff36","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-07 17:15:58","extension":"jpeg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":262899,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePredicted values obtained with the multiple regression model of the \u003cem\u003eLegionella \u003c/em\u003eabundance affected by water temperature and fixed values of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). DOC values (22.0, 27.5, 33.0 mg/L) correspond to minimum, maximum and mean values observed in both shallow lakes.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4298158/v1/1ec32beac1a9303b4e114c47.jpeg"},{"id":61972459,"identity":"c6c2c400-822b-4ce0-a6da-968896ecc452","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-07 17:15:58","extension":"jpeg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":978316,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eComparison between \u003cem\u003eLegionella \u003c/em\u003ecopy number per nanogram of DNA obtained by qPCR (full dark lines with triangles) and number of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e reads by NGS (grey dashed lines with circles) in Carpincho (a, c, e) and Gómez (b, d, f) shallow lakes. Processed reads were obtained using 97% similarity threshold OTUs (a, b), zOTUs (c, d) and ASVs (e, f) approaches. N=12.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage8.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4298158/v1/92b49e1545dea9aa864b8ee4.jpeg"},{"id":65627979,"identity":"9a674ab9-f418-487b-a771-9979c05d2ea6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-30 16:16:56","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2742378,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4298158/v1/2a50d86b-6b84-441f-b85c-59e04ba0eeb0.pdf"},{"id":61972475,"identity":"e99077d8-8f74-4a4a-aa56-83b0c5a02781","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-07 17:15:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":549779,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementarymaterialBianchellietal2024.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4298158/v1/000091a76cfe0ef8bd3bdc1c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eTemporal dynamics of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e (Proteobacteria, \u003cem\u003eLegionellaceae\u003c/em\u003e) in two Pampean shallow lakes from Argentina\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e genus comprises gram-negative, aerobic bacilli that are naturally found in both freshwater (Rowbotham \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e) and saltwater environments (Gast et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), as well as artificial water systems (cooling towers, building pipes and whirlpools) (Lee et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). These species are of great public health concern mainly because among the 60 identified species, 24 are known to cause human diseases (L\u0026ouml;sch and Merino \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. infections comprise one of the leading causes of pneumonia in humans, whether they are in-hospital or community-acquired (Stout and Yu \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e). Given the non-specific nature of its symptoms, diagnosis is often complicated, resulting in two distinct clinical outcomes: Pontiac fever, an influenza-like illness characterized by fever, headache and myalgia without signs of pneumonia; and Legionnaries\u0026rsquo; disease, a potentially fatal pneumonia (Murdoch \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e). This pulmonary and multisystemic disease can be potentially fatal, with 3 to 33% of infections leading to death (National Academies of Sciences 2020). The 2021 annual epidemiological report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has informed the highest annual notification rate, with 29 countries reporting 10,004 of 10723 (93%) confirmed cases of Legionnaires\u0026rsquo; disease (ECDC, 2023). In particular, in Argentina during September 2022, a cluster of 11 cases of bilateral pneumonia was detected in the province of Tucum\u0026aacute;n in which \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e was finally detected as the causative agent, resulting in the death of 4 patients (WHO, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe recurrence of epidemiological outbreaks associated with \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e is primarily attributed to their transmission routes, with the most significant source being the inhalation of aerosols containing these microorganisms. This is particularly noteworthy because aerosols can travel significant distances from their point of origin (Caicedo et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). The majority of outbreaks occur in treated recreational waters (swimming pools, spas and recreational parks). Conversely, the risk associated with natural waters, such as rivers, shallow lakes, beaches, among others, is considered less important (Dom\u0026eacute;nech-S\u0026aacute;nchez et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e, Leoni et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, natural surface water and groundwater have been identified as potential sources of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e outbreaks. This is supported by studies that have linked the incidence of legionellosis to the use of natural water sources (van Heijnsbergen et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). In addition to evidencing the ubiquity of \u003cem\u003eLegionella pneumophila\u003c/em\u003e in aquatic ecosystems, research carried out by Fliermans et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1981\u003c/span\u003e) demonstrated that this bacterium can also survive in a wide range of physical and chemical conditions. Additionally, \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e displays resilience in adverse conditions through the evolution of diverse adaptive mechanisms, including its ability to inhabit biofilms and eukaryotic microorganisms (Grabowska-Grucza and Kiersztyn \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). The parasitization of diverse protozoa contributes to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e transmission, enabling the bacteria to endure, proliferate and migrate in challenging conditions (William et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). This adaptive capacity enables \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e to thrive across diverse environments with distinct environmental characteristics. Prior research has identified \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e in various natural water bodies such as the Antarctic Peninsula (Carvalho et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e), hydrothermal waters (Verissimo et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e), glacial-origin eutrophic lakes (Grabowska et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), natural European aquatic habitats (lakes, groundwaters, rivers; Kanarek et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) and coastal shallow lakes (Selak et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite this widespread occurrence, to the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have assessed the occurrence of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e in Pampean shallow lakes (Argentina). Moreover, there have been no reported outbreaks of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e-related disease in the Pampa Region. It is noteworthy that \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e-induced pneumonia is often underreported on a global scale, potentially by a magnitude of eight to ten times (National Academies of Sciences 2020), due to its symptoms closely resembling pneumonia caused by other pathogens (Walser et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccordingly, investigating potential reservoirs where \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e is present is considered crucial for both sanitary and ecological reasons. Exploring the habitat of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e may be helpful in the effective control of this pathogen (Kanarek et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently, the aim of this work was mainly focused on assessing the presence and temporal dynamics of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. by molecular techniques such as qPCR and NGS, while analyzing their relationship with environmental variables in two Pampean shallow lakes (El Carpincho and G\u0026oacute;mez, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). We hypothesized that \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e is present in these natural shallow lakes and that variations in environmental factors, including both physical and chemical water parameters, drive fluctuations in the abundance of these bacteria.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStudy area\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe studied shallow lakes are situated in the Pampa Plain (Argentina) and are characterized for being polymictic, turbid phytoplanktonic and hypertrophic (Quir\u0026oacute;s and Drago \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e). Due to their shallow depths \u0026ndash; averaging 1.1 meters in G\u0026oacute;mez (area 36.6 km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e) and 1.2 meters in Carpincho (area 4.4 km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e) \u0026ndash; and the influence of persistent winds, these lakes exhibit significant homogeneity in most physical and chemical parameters throughout the water column (Quir\u0026oacute;s \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e, Schiaffino et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). G\u0026oacute;mez (34.6650\u0026deg;S; 61.0287\u0026deg;W) and Carpincho (34.5769\u0026deg;S; 60.8988\u0026deg;W) shallow lakes are located near the city of Jun\u0026iacute;n (34.5972\u0026deg;S; 60.9436\u0026deg;W) and are connected upstream and downstream to the Salado River, serving as natural reservoirs along its main course. Both lakes present floodgates that regulate their water levels, and are also mainly used for recreational purposes (fishing, canoeing, windsurfing, etc.). Additionally, G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lake is used for bathing and swimming during spring and summer seasons. A comprehensive and detailed characterization, including principal physical, chemical and biological parameters, has been conducted by Quir\u0026oacute;s and Drago(Quir\u0026oacute;s and Drago \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e) and Schiaffino et al. (Schiaffino et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSampling and measurement of environmental variables\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntegrated water samples (5 liters each) were collected from Balneario de G\u0026oacute;mez, a bathing area of Gomez shallow lake, and from Carpincho shallow lake throughout January to December 2016 (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;12 for each lake). All samples were obtained from the pelagic zone of the lakes at a depth of 30\u0026ndash;40 cm below the surface and transported to the laboratory at 4\u0026ordm;C under dark conditions. It should be noted that the sampling year was characterized by an excess of water due to increased rainfall in summer and autumn, with minimums observed during the winter and spring (Quiroga \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Several \u003cem\u003ein situ\u003c/em\u003e environmental variables were registered: conductivity, pH, temperature (HANNA HI991301), dissolved oxygen (DO) (HACH HQ30d multisensor) and water level (Echosounder Fish Finder).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDeterminations for total nutrients, including Kjeldahl\u0026rsquo;s total nitrogen (KTN), total phosphorus (TP) and dissolved nutrients such as ammoniacal nitrogen (N-NH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), along with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were performed according to Schiaffino et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMolecular approaches\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo obtain the environmental DNA, samples were collected in duplicates, and 100 mL of water were pre-filtered through 51 \u0026micro;m nets to remove large particles. Subsequently, samples were filtered again using 0.22 \u0026micro;m pore polycarbonate membranes (Millipore). Two sets of 12 DNA filters were generated: one set was utilized in this study for performing qPCR to examine the dynamics of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. abundance. The second set had been previously used for NGS of 16 rRNA gene by Illumina MiSeq platform to investigate the composition of planktonic bacteria (Seone Rocha 2018; Quiroga \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Schiaffino et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Nuozzi et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). In the current study, only the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e reads obtained from NGS data were utilized. Both sets were preserved in cryovials, snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen, and subsequently stored at -80\u0026deg;C until further processing. The hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/chloroform/isoamyl alcohol-based protocol (Fern\u0026aacute;ndez Zenoff et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e) was employed to extract the DNA retained on the filters. Extracted DNA was purified by filtration (Amicon\u0026reg; Ultra-4, Merck) and then the integrity and concentration of the purified DNA extracts were assessed using agarose gel electrophoresis and fluorometric techniques (Qubit 2.0 Fluorometer, Life Technologies). Results were expressed as nanograms of DNA per microliter of sample (ng DNA / \u0026micro;l sample).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eReal-time PCR (qPCR)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe extracted and purified DNA corresponding to the second set of 12 filters was utilized for the quantification of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. through qPCR. Each sample underwent analysis using the Mericon Quant \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. kit (QIAGEN, ID: 290085). All reactions were run simultaneously on the Bio-Rad CFX96 Touch thermocycler (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA), following the instructions provided by the manufacturer. The kit has a detection limit of 25,000 copy numbers per PCR reaction, therefore a 20-fold dilution of samples in ultrapure water was required to conform to the standard curve.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollowing qPCR analysis, \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e copy numbers per PCR reaction were standardized to copy numbers per nanogram of DNA. Subsequently, conversion to Colony Forming Units (CFU) was performed using the equation described by AbuOdeh et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), where CFU \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e / mL sample = [(\u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e copy number / mL sample) / 20]. This transformation was implemented as a proxy to facilitate a comparison of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e levels in the studied shallow lakes with those reported in natural surface freshwater environments (Schwake et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e and citations therein) and artificial water systems (AbuOdeh et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eComparative analysis of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eLegionella\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eabundance obtained by qPCR versus\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eLegionella\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ereads obtained by NGS\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs previously mentioned, the second set of replicates collected from both shallow lakes underwent NGS. The partial 16S rRNA gene was sequenced by Illumina MiSeq 2 x 300 paired-end sequencing (Macrogen Inc., Corea), using the primers 341F/805R (Herlemann et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), which cover the hypervariable regions V3-V4. After quality control, reads were analyzed using three different sequence processing algorithms: the UPARSE algorithm (Edgar \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e) that defined Operational Taxonomic Units clustered to a 97% similarity threshold (97% OTUs) as depicted in Seone Rocha (2018), the UNOISE algorithm (Edgar \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) defining zero-radius OTUs (zOTUs) as shown in Quiroga et al. (2020) and Schiaffino et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and clustering of sequences using the DADA2 methodology (Callahan et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) to obtain Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs), as shown in Nuozzi et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegardless of the type of data processing used, in all resulting matrices, sequences belonging to archaea, mitochondria and chloroplasts were filtered and removed. Subsequently, data were rarefied using R v3.4.4 software along with the foreign (R Core Team 2018), permute (Simpson \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), lattice (Sarkar \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e), packfor (Dray et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e) and vegan (Oksanen et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) packages. From all the resulting reads, a subset of data containing only sequences belonging to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e was utilized in the present work. This information, obtained from previous studies conducted in the same shallow lakes and sampling dates, was compared with the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e copy numbers obtained through qPCR.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analyses\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe standardized \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance data, along with environmental variables, were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA), in order to evaluate the relevance of these variables and their overall trends, and to simplify multidimensional data structures. A multiple regression model was performed with \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance obtained by qPCR as the dependent variable (response) and environmental variables as independent (explanatory) variables. The relevant predictors were selected using a stepwise procedure. The dependent variable (\u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e copy number per ng DNA) was transformed with natural logarithm (ln) to model a continuous response. The Shapiro-Wilks test was performed to validate the normal distribution of residuals, and the Durbin-Watson test was used to rule out the presence of autocorrelation between the residuals corresponding to each value and the previous one, ensuring the independence of the observations. Finally, comparisons between \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance obtained by qPCR and \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e reads obtained by NGS, were conducted by Spearman's paired correlations. The results were then visualized through plots created with GraphPad Prism 8 software. All analyses were performed with the R v.4.2.2 software (R Core Team \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) and the tidyverse package (Wickham et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). PCA and MFA were performed using the package FactoMineR (L\u0026ecirc; et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e) and their results plotted with the help of factoextra (Kassambara and Mundt \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). The Durbin-Watson test was performed using the package lmtest (Zeileis and Hothorn \u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhysical and chemical variables\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnvironmental variables of Carpincho and G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lakes over the 12-month sampling period\u0026nbsp;are presented in Table 1. The results indicated alkaline conditions (pH\u0026gt;8.56) and oligohaline or brackish characteristics (salinity between 1.66 and 3.04 g/L) in the water, with similar physical and chemical values in both shallow lakes (Table 1). Additionally, Carpincho and G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lakes exhibited similar temporal dynamics in the measured physical and chemical variables, such as lower water temperature (Supplementary Fig. 1a,b), pH (Supplementary Fig. 1c,d), salinity (Supplementary Fig. 1e,f) and DOC levels (Supplementary 1g,h) during winter months. Moreover, lower DO values (Supplementary Fig. 1i,j) were observed during the summer period.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTemporal dynamics of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the qPCR experiment, the reaction efficiency was E= 93.4% and the regression coefficient of the standard curve R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e=0.986 (slope=-3.491; intercept=37.853). The qPCR results exhibited a notably consistent fluctuation of the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e bacteria copy numbers in both lakes throughout the 12-month sampling period. Higher values were registered in May, July and October, while lower numbers were observed in January, February and December (Figure 1a and 1b). The overall \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance was very high in the studied Pampean shallow lakes. Mean values\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003ewere 3878 copies/ng DNA for Carpincho and 2418 copies/ng DNA for G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lakes. Transformed values of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e to CFU/mL and copy number from qPCR experiment are shown in Fig. 1a and 1b for Carpincho and G\u0026oacute;mez, respectively. CFU numbers were also elevated, ranging from 14 to 32672 UFC/mL (average 10343 UFC/mL) in Carpincho and from 76 to 50462 UFC/mL (average 11976 UFC/mL) in G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lakes.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEnvironmental variables analyses related to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e copy numbers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first three principal components (PC) of the PCA analysis were selected for both shallow lakes, representing 84.2% of the total variability in Carpincho (PC1: 52.0%, PC2: 19.8% and PC3: 12.4%), and 85.2% in G\u0026oacute;mez (PC1: 57.8%, PC2: 16.3% and PC3: 11.1%). Examining the correlations of each component with the original variables in Carpincho, the first component demonstrated strong negative correlations with temperature (r=-0.95), pH (r=-0.89), salinity (r=-0.85) and DOC (r=-0.76), while displaying positive correlations with DO (r=0.77), N-NH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e (r=0.72) and \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance (r=0.66). The second component showed positive correlations with KTN (r=0.88) and SRP (r=0.63) (Fig. 2a). The third PC was strongly and negatively associated with water level (r=-0.79). In G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lake, the first component presented positive correlations with temperature (r=0.92), salinity (r=0.92), pH (r=0.83) and DOC (r=0.82), and negative correlations with DO (r=-0.87), water level (r=-0.84), N-NH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e (r=-0.72) and \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e copy numbers (r=-0.72). The second component showed positive correlations with KTN (r=0.80) and SRP (r=0.71) (Fig. 2b). The third PC was moderately correlated with SRP (r=0.55), KTN (r=-0.51) and DOC (r=0.50).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOverall, samples from both shallow lakes demonstrated a temporal ordination primarily influenced by temperature, water nutrients (KTN, SRP and N-NH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e), chemical factors (pH, salinity, DO) and biological variables (\u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance). In both lakes, samples corresponding to May, June and July clustered together with higher concentrations of N-NH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e and \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundances; concurrently, these periods had the lowest temperature, pH, salinity and DOC values. Conversely, samples from January, February and March showed the highest values of temperature, pH, salinity and DOC, along with the lowest \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance and N-NH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e concentrations. Samples collected in September and October also presented elevated \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e numbers (Figure 1), but their salinity and KTN values surpassed the averages (Table 1), placing them generally near the center of the biplot between the first and second components.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA combined analysis of Carpincho and Gomez shallow lakes was performed using MFA. The two first dimensions explain 71.3% of variability (53.7% the first component and 17.6% the second). Information from both lakes contribute strongly to the first dimension of MFA (normalized coordinates of 0.98 and 0.98), and moderately to the second dimension (normalized coordinates of 0.37 for Carpincho and 0.28 for Gomez). The close proximity of the lakes in the factorial plane indicates that they share a similar structure in the behavior of the environmental variables and of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance. The analysis of the consensus structure shows that the first dimension of MFA is strongly and positively correlated with temperature (r=0.95), pH (r=0.86), salinity (r=0.89) and DOC (r=0.81), and negatively with water level (r=-0.65), DO (r=-0.81), N-NH3 (r=-0.73) and \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance (r=-0.69). The second dimension is strongly and positively correlated with SRP (r=0.73) and KTN (r=0.87). On the other hand, comparison of partial and consensus structures shows that, in Carpincho, environmental variables DO, KTN and SRP are strongly correlated, contrary to Gomez\u0026rsquo;s correlation structure.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA stepwise multiple regression analysis was also conducted between the measured environmental variables and the ln of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance. The Shapiro-Wilks test confirmed the normal distribution of residuals (W=0.9653, p=0.55) and the Durbin-Watson test (d=2.43, p=0.78) ensured compliance with the assumption of independence of observations. The lake was introduced in the model as a potential predictor, but resulted not significant (p\u0026gt;0.05). The model selected only the variables DOC and temperature as predictors of variations in \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundances in both shallow lakes. An adjusted R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e of 0.72 was obtained, leaving the model equation as follows (1):\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eLog\u003csub\u003ee\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003eLegionella\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eabundance = 9.02 \u0026ndash; 0.19 * DOC + 0.57 * temperature \u0026ndash; 0.02 * temperature\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e \u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe model indicates that the effect of DOC and temperature on the abundance of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e is the same in both shallow lakes. For a constant temperature, an increase in DOC produces a decrease in the mean level of the ln of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance. The effect of temperature on the ln abundance of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e, however, is not linear: for a constant DOC level, an elevation in temperature can lead to either an increase or decrease in the ln abundance of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e, depending on the original temperature range. Up to 15\u0026deg;C, \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance increases as temperature rises. Conversely, in warmer conditions surpassing 15\u0026deg;C, the abundance\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eof \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e decreases as temperature increases (Fig. 3). This suggests that the response of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e to temperature differs depending on the time of the year, and possibly in relation to other environmental variables. For the lowest observed DOC levels (during cold months), increase in temperature produce a large effect in the mean of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance. Conversely, at higher values of DOC (warm months), a rise in temperature induces a small decrease in mean \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance (Fig. 3).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNGS analysis and comparison with \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundances obtained by qPCR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData derived from NGS, processed using the 97% OTUs, zOTUs and ASVs approaches, revealed divergent outcomes, both in the overall richness of reads and in those belonging specifically to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. In both shallow lakes, the NGS analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, employing a 97% similarity threshold of OTU grouping, unveiled a total bacterial richness of 3605 97% OTUs, with 22 belonging to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e. As for the cleaning using the zero-radius OTUs, it yielded a total bacterial richness of 7528 zOTUs, including 16 linked to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e. It should be noted that in both cleaning approaches, no particular \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e species were identified. The sequence processing using the ASVs approach ultimately yielded the highest bacterial richness, generating a total of 7806 ASVs, with 44 corresponding to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. Notably, this approach allowed for species differentiation, including three previously identified species (\u003cem\u003eL. adelaidensis\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eL. tunisiensis\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eL.\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003equateirensis\u003c/em\u003e) and two still unclassified species (\u003cem\u003eL\u003c/em\u003e. KR14 and \u003cem\u003eL\u003c/em\u003e. D2863).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn general, we observed comparable patterns in the dynamics of qPCR\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eabundance and the number of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e reads obtained through NGS (Fig. 4 a-f). However, correlations between the number of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e reads obtained from different sequence processing algorithms (NGS) and the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e copy numbers obtained by qPCR revealed distinct outcomes (Table 2). The zOTU bioinformatic approach demonstrated the strongest correlation with \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eqPCR abundances in both lakes (Carpincho r=0.93; G\u0026oacute;mez r=0.91; Table 2), with peak abundances observed in the months of May, July and October, aligning with the dynamics of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e determined by qPCR (Fig. 4c, d). Cleaning by grouping 97% OTUs showed correlation coefficients of 0.68 for Carpincho and 0.58 for G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lakes (Table 2). Maximum values of NGS \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e reads, except for the month of January, coincided with those recorded for the abundance of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e by qPCR (Fig. 4a,b). Finally, processing by ASVs exhibited the lowest correlation coefficient for Carpincho shallow lake (r=0.26, Table 2). Although a similar trend was observed between both abundances, disparities were noted during the months of January, October and December (Fig. 4e). On the other hand, for G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lake, the ASV bioinformatic approach yielded a positive correlation (r=0.63, Table 2), with coincident peaks in April, May, July and October for qPCR copy number and ASVs reads (Fig. 4f).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eInfluence of environmental variables on\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eLegionella\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eabundance\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, we investigated the dynamics of aquatic bacteria belonging to the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e genus, and explored the environmental variables influencing their abundances. Our results support the initially proposed hypothesis, confirming the presence of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e in the studied Pampean shallow lakes and revealing significant temporal fluctuations and abundance peaks of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e, notably occurring during the months of May, July and October. Furthermore, our study underscores a substantial influence of environmental factors on the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance in water samples from both lakes. Temperature and DOC mainly modulated \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. abundance in the studied Pampean shallow lakes. Both variables emerged as the most important included in the multiple regression model, emphasizing their role in shaping the dynamics of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e in the studied lakes. We found that the effect of temperature on the ln abundance of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e is quadratic. For a constant DOC level, at temperatures up to 15\u0026deg;C the abundance of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e tends to increase with rising temperatures. However, in warmer conditions exceeding 15\u0026deg;C, the abundance of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e diminishes as temperatures continue to rise. This implies that \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s response to temperature varies temporally or seasonally, and may also be influenced by other environmental factors, such as DOC. When temperature remains constant, an increase DOC levels results in a decrease in the average level of the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance. However, it is important to remark that the strong correlation structure between temperature and other environmental factors induces a collinearity issue during the model selection process. Adding more variables to a model that already includes temperature as a predictor, does not provide significant new insights, as many of these variables are closely correlated to temperature. This highlights the complex interplay of environmental factors on \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e populations (Schwake et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrevious studies found changes in the survival, viability and metabolism of \u003cem\u003eL. pneumophila\u003c/em\u003e in culture, responding to variations in temperature in marine, thermal and drinking waters (e.g., Heller et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e; Ohno et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Bennett and Bentham \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e has the ability to survive and grow as parasites within free-living protozoa and within biofilms that develop in water systems (WHO 2022), having the potential to survive in a wide range of environmental factors. \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e lives and grows in water systems at an ideal temperature range from 20 to 50\u0026ordm;C, when nutrients are available (WHO 2022). However, it was found that cold temperature freshwater sources (\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;20\u0026ordm;C) have the potential to contain \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e (Schwake et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). In the Netherlands, 100% of river water with temperatures of 3 to 4\u0026ordm;C were found to have \u003cem\u003eL. pneumophila\u003c/em\u003e, and relatively high concentrations up to 2.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e cells/mL were recorded (Wullings and van der Kooij. 2006). These authors found that a large diversity of yet-uncultured Legionellae are common members of the microbial communities in surface waters and groundwaters treated at water temperatures of below 15\u0026deg;C. Accordingly, Bennett and Bentham (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e), performed laboratory microcosms and reported that both increasing salinity and temperature reduced survival of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e. They suggested that the protective role of amoebae and biofilm in \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e survival and multiplication cannot be disregarded in this context. A survey of five lakes and rivers in differing climate zones of Southern Korea demonstrated the ubiquity of \u003cem\u003eL. pneumophila\u003c/em\u003e using qPCR results (Bahk et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). All the sites had detectable \u003cem\u003eL. pneumophila\u003c/em\u003e in at least one sample, with higher positivity observed during winter season. This seasonal pattern throughout a variety of climates shows that other environmental factors beyond temperature play a key role in \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e populations (Wullings and van der Kooij \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditionally, DOC serves as a necessary element for the growth of heterotrophic bacteria, playing an important role in the carbon cycle through the microbial loop, over which it returns to higher levels of the food web. Phytoplankton, particularly cyanobacteria, serve as major contributors to autochthonous organic matter, supplying DOC and other nutrients to the ecosystem. In our study, a negative association was found between \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance and DOC concentration in the water, for both Carpincho and G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lakes. This association was partially explained by Tison et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e), suggesting that a decrease in DOC concentrations may result from increased utilization of algal-derived extracellular products by the heterotrophic microbiota, including bacteria belonging to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the other hand, G\u0026oacute;mez and Carpincho shallow lakes exhibited remarkably similar fluctuation in physical, chemical and biological variables (i.e., abundance of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp.), likely due to their connection to the Salado River and interconnection with each other, as it was previously reported by Schiaffino et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and Sagua et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eComparison of Colony Forming Units (CFU) of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eLegionella\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ewith other water environments\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs expected, among the 24 collected samples, the months with the highest \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e counts in CFU/mL coincided with those which presented the maximum \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e copy numbers. The obtained values were much higher than those reported for other natural and artificial water environments (Schwake et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e, AbuOdeh et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). In particular, the majority of these samples had \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e concentrations exceeding those reported in cooling towers from Qatar by AbuOdeh et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), which ranged from 0.02 to 199.50 CFU/mL. However, fluctuations in these levels across different months were consistent with the broader variability observed in \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e concentrations across various surface freshwater ecosystems (Schwake et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e, and citations therein). These higher abundances of Legionella may be explained because when compared against other lakes worldwide, Pampean shallow lakes depart from most of them as having higher TP, KTN, and chlorophyll-a concentrations and much lower transparency, and therefore they stand as extremes of the trophic-state continuum (Diovisalvi et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). These environmental conditions likely support high abundances of \u003cem\u003eLegionella.\u003c/em\u003e The elevated levels of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e compared to other studies represent a potential health concern despite the fact that no legionellosis outbreaks had yet been registered in the area. Notably, the Committee of Management of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e in Water Systems (National Academies of Sciences, 2020) identifies a \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e concentration exceeding 50 CFU/mL as a critical threshold, indicating a level of concern that demanded prompt remediation efforts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite the potential overestimation of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e occurrence by qPCR due to the detection of nonviable organisms, given the high values detected of these potentially pathogenic bacteria, we suggest further monitoring of the studied shallow lakes, as conventional microbiology cultures were not performed. Especially since there is no epidemiological monitoring and scarce environmental microbiological control by the local authorities. We hope that with this study a more exhaustive control can be carried out in the future.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eComparative of NGS and qPCR abundances\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs mentioned above, qPCR data was compared with a subset of NGS reads from previous studies, employing different processing methodologies: OTUs with a 97% similarity threshold (Seoane Rocha \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), zero-radius OTUs (Quiroga \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Schiaffino et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and ASVs (Nuozzi et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). It becomes evident that each bioinformatic analysis method places different importance on species distinctiveness, overall diversity and fidelity. This variability contributes to differences in outcomes and interpretations of genetic information across various methodologies. Specifically, for Carpincho and G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lakes, the zOTU approach showed the highest correlation between the number of copies obtained by qPCR and the number of reads generated by NGS. This is attributed to the denoising process, which eliminates sequencing errors and enhances read accuracy. Classical processing, grouping OTUs at a 97% similarity threshold (Edgar \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Logares \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), displayed a significant medium correlation coefficient in both shallow lakes. However, none of these processing methodologies (zOTU or 97% OTU) were able to identify any species.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProcessing using the DADA2 algorithm (Callahan et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) allowed for the determination of more ASVs (7806 total, 44 corresponding to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e), although it led to a reduction in correlation with the number of copies obtained by qPCR in Carpincho shallow lake. Nevertheless, this methodology facilitated the identification of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e species. DADA2 controls errors sufficiently to resolve single nucleotide differences in the sequenced gene region without the need to impose a similarity threshold as required in the case of 97% OTUs (Callahan et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). The ASVs approach successfully identified \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e species in both shallow lakes, including previously characterized species such as \u003cem\u003eL. adelaidensis\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eL. tunisiensis\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eL. quateirensis\u003c/em\u003e, along with unclassified species like \u003cem\u003eL.\u003c/em\u003e KR14 and L. D2863. \u003cem\u003eLegionella adelaidensis\u003c/em\u003e was first characterized by Benson et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e) from a sample taken from a cooling tower of an air conditioning system and is included in the list of species detected by the Mericon Quant \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. used in our work. Similarly, L. \u003cem\u003equateirensis\u003c/em\u003e was identified in a water sample from a shower in a hotel in Quarteira, Portugal, and is one of the five species of the \u003cem\u003eLegionellaceae\u003c/em\u003e family described by Dennis et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e). None of the aforementioned species has been found to be pathogenic for humans. \u003cem\u003eLegionella tunisiensis\u003c/em\u003e was isolated via amoeba co-culturing in Sabkha Lake, a hypersaline lake in Tunisia, North Africa (Campocasso et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). This novel species is interesting due to its large amount of potential coding sequences and unusually high number of resistance genes (50% more sequences and 37 more genes than \u003cem\u003eL. pneumophila\u003c/em\u003e). While not determined, a large number of encoded proteins could be related to mechanisms for overcoming osmotic stress (Schwake et al \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e, and cites therein).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e KR14 and \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e D2863, neither of them are described in the literature nor classified in databases (Schoch et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), leaving their characteristics and pathogenicity unknown to date. Thus, further investigation is needed to fully unravel the composition of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e species in the studied shallow lakes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study, the first of its kind conducted in Pampean surface aquatic systems, revealed a notably high overall \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e amount in the studied shallow lakes. We found a distinct temporal pattern of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundances, with maximum values occurring in May, July and October in both lakes, used for recreational purposes. We also found that the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e dynamics were predominantly driven by water temperature and DOC. The molecular approaches (NGS and qPCR) employed to investigate the \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e dynamics demonstrated congruence and consistency, albeit some variations were noted among the different sequence processing algorithms used for NGS data.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe potential for human exposure to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e in natural surface aquatic systems can manifest in many ways, ranging from direct contact through recreational water activities to more indirect exposure via aerosolization from water bodies. Consequently, we advocate for continued monitoring of Pampean shallow lakes, including culture-based studies, to better assess and mitigate the risk posed by the presence of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e in these natural surface waters.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eFunding\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was financed by the National Agency of Scientific and Technical Promotion (ANPCyT PICT 0891-2017, PICTO 00006-2019) and the National University of North-Western Buenos Aires (UNNOBA SIB 2053-2022), Argentina. We also thank QIAGEN for the 2018 Young Scientist Contest award won by Mara In\u0026eacute;s Sagua and National Interuniversity Council (CIN) for providing Encouragement of Scientific Vocations (EVC) fellowships.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompeting Interests\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthor Contributions\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll authors contributed to the study conception and design. Sample acquisition was performed by Mar\u0026iacute;a P\u0026iacute;a Quiroga and Mar\u0026iacute;a Romina Schiaffino. Laboratory analyses were executed by Julieta Bianchelli, Mara Sagua and Guillermina Nuozzi. Statistical analyses were performed by Julieta Bianchelli, Julia Fernandez and Mar\u0026iacute;a Romina Schiaffino. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Julieta Bianchelli. Mara Sagua and Julieta Bianchelli contributed equally to this work. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEthical approval\u003c/em\u003e Not applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConsent to participate\u003c/em\u003e All the authors of the article agree to participate in the journal submission\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/em\u003e All the author listed have approved the manuscript that is enclosed\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCompeting interest\u003c/em\u003e The authors declare no competing interest\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe data presented in this study are available upon request from the corresponding author.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003cp\u003eAbuOdeh R, Aziz H, Moussa H, et al (2017) First study in Qatar to reveal high \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e counts in cooling towers. 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Environ Sci Technol 49:4797\u0026ndash;4815.\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00142\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00142\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVerissimo A, Marrao G, da Silva FG, Da Costa MS (1991) Distribution of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. in hydrothermal areas in continental Portugal and the island of Sao Miguel, Azores.\u0026nbsp;Appl Environ Microbiology 57(10):2921-2927.\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.57.10.2921-2927.1991\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e10.1128/aem.57.10.2921-2927.1991\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWalser SM, Gerstner DG, Brenner B, H\u0026ouml;ller C, Liebl B, Herr CEW (2014) Assessing the environmental health relevance of cooling towers \u0026ndash; A systematic review of legionellosis out- breaks. Int J Hyg Environ Health 217(2\u0026ndash;3):145\u0026ndash;54.\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2013.08.002\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Persistent link using digital object identifier\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2013.08.002\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWorld Health Organization (2022) Legionellosis Fact Sheet.\u0026nbsp;Geneva, Switzerland. \u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/legionellosis\"\u003ehttps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/legionellosis\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWorld Health Organization (2022) Disease Outbreak News Legionellosis \u0026ndash; Argentina.\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON407\"\u003ehttps://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON407\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWickham H, Averick M, Bryan J, Chang W, McGowan LD, Fran\u0026ccedil;ois R, Grolemund G, Hayes A, Henry L, Hester J, Kuhn M, Pedersen TL, Miller E, Bache SM, M\u0026uuml;ller K, Ooms J, Robinson D, Seidel DP, Spinu V, Takahashi K, Vaughan D, Wilke C, Woo K, Yutani H (2019) Welcome to the tidyverse. J Open Source Softw \u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e(43): 1686.\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.01686\"\u003edoi:10.21105/joss.01686\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWilliam HM, Heslin K, Kram JJ, Toberna CP, Baumgardner DJ (2022) Association of natural waterways and \u003cem\u003eLegionella pneumophila\u003c/em\u003e infection in eastern Wisconsin: A case-control study. J Patient Cent Res Re 9:128\u0026ndash;13.\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.17294%2F2330-0698.1872\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e10.17294/2330-0698.1872\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWullings BA, van der Kooij D (2006) Occurrence and genetic diversity of uncultured \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. in drinking water treated at temperatures below 15\u0026deg;C. Appl Environ Microbiol 72: 157\u0026ndash;166.\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.72.1.157-166.2006\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e10.1128/AEM.72.1.157-166.2006\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eZeileis A, Hothorn T (2002). Diagnostic Checking in Regression Relationships. R News 2(3):7-10.\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"https://CRAN.R-project.org/doc/Rnews/\"\u003ehttps://CRAN.R-project.org/doc/Rnews/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Tables","content":"\u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:justify;line-height:200%;'\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;line-height:200%;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eTable 1\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;line-height:200%;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e\u0026nbsp;Ranges (Min and Max), means and standard deviation (\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;line-height:200%;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:#4D5156;background:white;'\u003eSD\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;line-height:200%;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e) values of environmental variables measured in Carpincho and G\u0026oacute;mez shallow lakes from January to December 2016 (N=12).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width: 4.9e+2pt;margin-left:-20.25pt;border-collapse:collapse;border:none;\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"3\" style=\"width: 164.2pt;border-top: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-left: none;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eCarpincho\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"3\" style=\"width: 127.6pt;border-top: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-left: none;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eG\u0026oacute;mez\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eVariable\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eMin\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eMax\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eMean\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;SD\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eMin\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eMax\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;height: 22.35pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eMean\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;SD\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eWater level (m)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.35\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.52\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.40\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.05\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.35\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.55\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.43\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.06\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eTemperature (\u0026ordm;C)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.70\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e26.30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e16.93\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;6.27\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.7\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e26.5\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e17.32\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;6.37\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003epH\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.56\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.93\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.77\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.11\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.61\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.91\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.76\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.11\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eDissolved oxygen (mg/L)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e7.11\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e11.96\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e9.41\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;1.31\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e8.49\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e11.06\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e9.74\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.96\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eTotal phosphorus (mg/L)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.60\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.48\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.96\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.27\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.59\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.08\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.88\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.14\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eSoluble reactive phosphorus (mg/L)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.20\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.18\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.59\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.28\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.26\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.10\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.63\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.24\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eKjedahl\u0026rsquo;s total Nitrogen (mg/L)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e2.85\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e4.89\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e3.86\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.62\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e2.84\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e7.39\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e4.35\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;1.35\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eAmmoniacal nitrogen (mg/L)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.28\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.05\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.09\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.29\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e0.06\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.09\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eSalinity (g/L)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.66\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e2.88\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e2.39\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.43\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e1.67\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e3.04\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e2.41\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;0.46\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195.75pt;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-left: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-top: none;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eDissolved organic carbon (mg/L)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e22.77\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45.75pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e33.08\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e27.05\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;3.23\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e22.16\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 35.45pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e32.46\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56.7pt;border-top: none;border-left: none;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e26.44\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;color:black;background:white;'\u003e\u0026plusmn;2.65\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:justify;line-height:200%;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;line-height:200%;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:justify;line-height:200%;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;line-height:200%;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:justify;line-height:200%;'\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;line-height:200%;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003eTable 2\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;line-height:200%;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e\u0026nbsp;Spearman\u0026apos;s correlation coefficients (r) for 97% similarity OTU (97% OTU), zOTU and ASV bioinformatic approaches versus \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundances obtained by qPCR in both shallow lakes. ns = non-significant, * = p \u0026lt; 0.05, ** = p \u0026lt; 0.01, *** = p \u0026lt; 0.001. N=12\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width: 4.3e+2pt;border-collapse:collapse;border:none;\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" style=\"width: 141.7pt;border: 1pt solid black;padding: 5pt;height: 15.3pt;vertical-align: top;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style='margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:\"Calibri\",sans-serif;text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;'\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:13px;font-family:\"Times New Roman\",serif;'\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 141.75pt;border-top: 1pt solid black;border-right: 1pt solid black;border-bottom: 1pt solid black;border-image: initial;border-left: 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Research](https://www.springer.com/journal/11356)","snPcode":"11356","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11356/3","title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Legionella spp., Pampean shallow lakes, temporal dynamics, Next Generation Sequencing, qPCR, environmental microbiology","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4298158/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4298158/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAquatic systems have traditionally played a key role in the development of human life, providing multiple ecosystem services to society and being a reservoir for a wide biodiversity of organisms. Among them, bacteria belonging to \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e stand out, mainly because they are of great interest both in the field of microbial ecology and public health, since some of them turn out to be pathogenic for humans. The aim of this work was to study the monthly temporal dynamics of \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e spp. and its relationship with the environmental variables measured in two Pampean shallow lakes (G\u0026oacute;mez and Carpincho, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). The analysis was carried out using a quantitative approach by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) and a non-quantitative approach using bacterial diversity data obtained by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Our results showed that the overall \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundance was very high in the studied Pampean shallow lakes. Notably, fluctuations in dissolved organic carbon and temperature influenced the dynamics shifts in \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e abundances. Correlation analyses between \u003cem\u003eLegionella\u003c/em\u003e reads from NGS and copy numbers obtained through qPCR revealed positive relationships, unveiling distinctions attributable to the diverse sequence processing algorithms employed in the analysis of NGS data.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Temporal dynamics of Legionella (Proteobacteria, Legionellaceae) in two Pampean shallow lakes from Argentina","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-08-07 17:15:53","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4298158/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Accept","date":"2024-09-13T05:54:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2024-08-11T07:36:37+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-08-01T12:39:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","date":"2024-08-01T05:36:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","date":"2024-07-31T10:37:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-science-and-pollution-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"espr","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Science and Pollution Research](https://www.springer.com/journal/11356)","snPcode":"11356","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11356/3","title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d0f462b5-a2fa-4322-beca-091484eacb9d","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 7th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-09-30T16:09:29+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4298158","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-35007-w","journal":{"identity":"environmental-science-and-pollution-research","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research"},"publishedOn":"2024-09-27 15:57:21","publishedOnDateReadable":"September 27th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-08-07 17:15:53","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s11356-024-35007-w","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-35007-w","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4298158","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4298158","identity":"rs-4298158","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}