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

胡椒轻度斑驳病毒 (PMMoV) 是一种属于 Virgoviridae 科的植物病原病毒，已被提议作为水生环境中人类粪便污染的潜在病毒指标。本研究调查了意大利水环境中 PMMoV 的发生、数量和多样性。对 2017 年至 2019 年间从不同类型的水收集的总共 254 个水样进行了分析。详细检测了原污水92份、处理后污水32份、河样16份、河口水9份、洗浴水20份、地下水67份、饮用水18份。PMMoV 分别在 79% 和 75% 的未处理和处理过的污水样本、75% 的河流样本、67% 和 25% 的河口和沐浴水以及 13% 的地下水样本中检测到。饮用水中未检出阳性。⁶ ) > 处理后的污水 (2.9 × 10 ⁵ ) > 河水 (6.1 × 10 ² ) > 河口水域 (4.8 × 10 ² ) > 沐浴水 (8.5 × 10 ¹ ) > 地下水 (5.9 × 10 ^{1 )}）。在未经处理的污水和处理过的污水之间以及在这些和所有其他水基质之间可以观察到病毒载量的统计学显着差异。PMMoV 发生率和病毒载量未显示未处理污水的季节性变化，也未显示与海水和地下水中的粪便指示菌相关。这项研究是关于意大利不同水环境中 PMMoV 发生和量化的第一份报告。需要进一步的研究来评估 PMMoV 作为人类粪便污染和水中病毒病原体的病毒指标的适用性。