Deciphering the influence of multiple anthropogenic inputs on taxonomic and functional profiles of the microbial communities in Yitong River, Northeast China

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 29; no. 26; pp. 39973 - 39984
• Main Authors: Zhang, Ying, Huo, Yang, Zhang, Zhiruo, Zhu, Suiyi, Fan, Wei, Wang, Xianze, Huo, Mingxin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Ammonia; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacterioplankton; Carbon cycle; Carbon fixation; Cyanobacteria; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Effluents; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental factors; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Fecal coliforms; Human influences; Land use; Megacities; Microbial activity; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Nitrates; Nitrogen; Nitrogen cycle; Outlets; Phosphorus; Physicochemical properties; Polymerase chain reaction; Relative abundance; Research Article; Rivers; rRNA 16S; Waste Water Technology; Wastewater discharges; Wastewater treatment plants; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; China; Functional profiles; Anthropogenic inputs; River ecosystem; 16S rRNA gene sequencing; Fecal contamination indicator; Wastewater treatment plant effluent; Bacterioplankton communities
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-18386-2

  We conducted the analysis of physicochemical parameters, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to explore the impact of human inputs on the bacterioplankton communities within a tributary of the largest river flowing through a megacity in northeast China. Agriculture largely accounted for the alteration of diversity and functions of the microbial communities. Furthermore, nitrate and total phosphorus declined at the reservoir outlet. The WWTP effluent discharge caused a decrease of the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria , while the impact on the variation of alpha diversity of river microbial community was slight. Carbon fixation and nitrogen cycle varied with the change of land use type. The rare taxa contributed with a predominant role in the response to environmental variables and NH 3 -N as well as NO 3 − -N were the main environmental factors that drove the shift in the bacterial community. The occurrence of the human-specific fecal indicator was mostly derived from agriculture, and its increase in relative abundance was observed in the WWTP effluent. Thus, our study provides guidance for ecological assessment and management of rivers by revealing the response pattern of river bacterioplankton to multiple types of anthropogenic stressors. Graphical abstract