Gut microbiota exerts a fundamental role on host physiology, and how extrinsic perturbations influence its composition has been increasingly examined. However, the effect of drinking water on gut microbiota is still poorly understood. In this study, we explored the response of mouse gut bacterial community (fecal and mucosa-adhered) to the ingestion of different types of drinking water. The experimental cohort was divided according to different water sources into four groups of mice that consumed autoclaved tap water (control group), water collected directly from a drinking water treatment plant, tap water, and commercial bottled mineral water. Differences among groups were observed, especially related to control group, which exhibited the smallest intra-group variation, and the largest distance from test groups on the last experimental day. Clinically important taxa, such as Acinetobacter and Staphylococcus, increased in feces of mice that drank tap water and in mucosa-adhered samples of animals from disinfected and tap water groups. Furthermore, statistical analyses showed that both time elapsed between samplings and water type significantly influenced the variation observed in the samples. Our results reveal that drinking water potentially affects gut microbiota composition. Additionally, the increase of typical drinking water clinically relevant and antibiotic resistance-associated bacteria in gut microbiota is a cause of concern.

肠道菌群对宿主生理起着基本作用，并且越来越多地研究了外部干扰如何影响其组成。然而，饮用水对肠道菌群的影响仍然知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们探讨了小鼠肠道细菌群落（粪便和粘膜粘附）对摄入不同类型饮用水的反应。根据不同的水源，将实验组分为四组，分别消耗高压灭菌的自来水（对照组），从饮用水处理厂直接收集的水，自来水和市售瓶装矿泉水。观察到各组之间的差异，特别是与对照组有关的差异，在最后一个实验日，组内差异最小，与测试组的距离最大。饮用自来水的小鼠的粪便以及来自消毒和自来水组的动物的粘膜粘附动物样品中的不动杆菌和葡萄球菌增加。此外，统计分析表明，采样之间的时间间隔和水类型都显着影响了样本中观察到的变化。我们的结果表明，饮用水可能会影响肠道菌群的组成。另外，肠微生物群中典型的临床相关饮用水和抗生素抗性相关细菌的增加是引起关注的原因。