Natural and anthropogenic carbon input affect microbial activity in salt marsh sediment

Abstract

Salt marshes are dynamic, highly productive ecosystems positioned at the interface between terrestrial and marine systems. They are exposed to large quantities of both natural and anthropogenic carbon input, and their diverse sediment-hosted microbial communities play key roles in carbon cycling and remineralization. To better understand the effects of natural and anthropogenic carbon on sediment microbial ecology, several sediment cores were collected from Little Sippewissett Salt Marsh (LSSM) on Cape Cod, MA, USA and incubated with either Spartina alterniflora cordgrass or diesel fuel. Resulting shifts in microbial diversity and activity were assessed via bioorthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) combined with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Both Spartina and diesel amendments resulted in initial decreases of microbial diversity as well as clear, community-wide shifts in metabolic activity. Multi-stage degradative frameworks shaped by fermentation were inferred based on anabolically active lineages. In particular, the metabolically versatile Marinifilaceae were prominent under both treatments, as were the sulfate-reducing Desulfovibrionaceae, which may be attributable to their ability to utilize diverse forms of carbon under nutrient limited conditions. By identifying lineages most directly involved in the early stages of carbon processing, we offer potential targets for indicator species to assess ecosystem health and highlight key players for selective promotion of bioremediation or carbon sequestration pathways.

Water quality assessment of river based on phytoplankton biological integrity index in rural areas of the upstream Citarum River, West Java, Indonesia

“…In high organic input, the decomposition process influences microbial activity. It can lead to oxygen depletion (Pratiwi et al 2023), eutrophication (Han et al 2022), stimulate the growth of bloom algae (Han et al 2022), and sedimentation (Frates et al 2023). These impacts can disrupt the balance of the ecosystem and cause a decline in water quality.…”

Profiling of Seawater Bacterial Diversity in Tanjung Mas Port Using 16S rRNA eDNA Metabarcoding and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)

“…Flavobacteriaceae members are often associated with the degradation of complex organic compounds and contribute to the overall metabolic diversity of the ecosystem (Pollet et al, 2018). Lachnospiraceae, known for their roles in carbohydrate metabolism, and Cyclobacteriaceae, contributing to the breakdown of organic matter, further underscore the functional versatility within the Tanjung Mas microbial community (Mahmoud et al, 2021;Frates et al, 2023).…”

Microbial Eukaryotes in Natural and Artificial Salt Marsh Pools

“…In addition to plants and macroscopic animals, pools and other salt marsh habitats harbor a much higher, but understudied, diversity of microorganisms that are no less important for ecosystem functioning [5]. Among salt marsh microbes, bacteria and fungi have been studied most extensively considering their key role in decomposition and nutrient cycling [6][7][8][9]. Both the structure and function of their assemblages have been shown to change in response to nutrient enrichment [10][11][12][13], chemical pollution [14], biological invasions [15,16], sea level rise [17], and marsh restoration [18,19].…”