Assessment of microbial communities in Nakivubo wetland and its catchment areas in Lake Victoria Basin, Uganda

Abstract

Microbial community structure changes are key in detecting and characterizing the impacts of anthropogenic activities on aquatic ecosystems. Here, we evaluated the effect of river pollution of industrial and urban sites on the microbial community composition and distribution in the Nakivubo wetland and its catchment areas in Lake Victoria basin, Uganda. Samples were collected from two industrial and one urban polluted sites and the microbial diversity was analyzed based on a 16S rRNA gene clone library. Differences in microbial diversity and community structure were observed at different sampling points. Bacteria associated with bioremediation were found in sites receiving industrial waste, while a low proportion of important human-pathogenic bacteria were seen in urban polluted sites. While Escherichia spp. was the most dominant genus of bacteria for all sites, three unique bacteria, Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Thermomonas sp., which have been reported to transform contaminants such as heavy metals and hydrocarbons (such as oils) by their metabolic pathways were also identified. Our results may serve as a basis for further studies assessing microbial community structure changes among polluted sites at Nakivubo Water Channel for management and monitoring. The diversity of natural microbial consortia could also be a rich bioprospecting resource for novel industrial enzymes, medicinal and bioactive compounds.