Pattern changes of microbial communities in urban river affected by anthropogenic activities and their environmental driving mechanisms

Abstract

The microbial community structure of sediments in the Bahe River Basin, China was studied using a high-throughput sequencing platform and PCR amplification to investigate the pattern changes in microbial communities in urban rivers affected by anthropogenic activities and their environmental driving mechanisms. The results demonstrated that the average total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the sediments were 524 and 734 mg/kg, respectively. The T, COD and $${\text{NH}}_{4}^{ + }$$ NH 4 + -N of the water and the moisture content of the sediments has significantly impacted on the microbial community structure. Twenty microbial species with a relative abundance > 1% in the sediments of the river were observed, accounting for 95–99% of the total microbial community. The primary species were Proteobacteria (13.86–69.14%), Firmicutes (1.45–58.33%), Chloroflexi (3.68–26.18%), Actinobacteria (2.7–21.51%), Acidobacteria (0.73–16.36%), Bacteroides (1.53–14.11%), and Thermodesulfobacteria (0.1–8.9%), accounting for over 90% of the total microbial community. At the class level, the primary species were γ-proteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Anaerolineae, Bacillus, Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota, and Clostridia, accounting for over 70% of the total microbial community. Our results provide direct evidence for a link between microbial community structure and environment factors. This evidence demonstrates that sediment microorganisms can be applied to evaluate urban rivers pollution levels, which can provide a scientific basis for pollution control and management in the urban river affected by human activities.

Urban landscapes and legacy industry provide hotspots for riverine greenhouse gases: A source-to-sea study of the River Clyde

“…This seasonal change in GHG concentrations may be related to changes in microbial community composition and activities, which have been observed downstream of UWWTP (Zhou et al, 2022;Beaulieu et al, 2010). The abundance of sediment microbial community have been found to be correlated with EC, organic matter, TP, DO and TN (Feng et al, 2022). This suggests microbial adaptation to changing conditions.…”

High-proportions of tailwater discharge alter microbial community composition and assembly in receiving sediments

“…Most pollutants are gradually deposited at the bottom of lakes through natural sedimentation or surface adsorption of particles. These pollutants may also be released into the overlying water body, causing secondary pollution 7 – 9 , which affects not only the quality of water in the lake but also the bacterial community in the sediment. Microorganisms in sediments maintain the health of lake ecosystems by regulating the flow of energy and the decomposition and transformation of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and toxic and harmful pollutants 10 , 11 .…”