Metagenomic Insights into Effects of Chemical Pollutants on Microbial Community Composition and Function in Estuarine Sediments Receiving Polluted River Water

• Published in: Microbial ecology Vol. 73; no. 4; pp. 791 - 800
• Main Authors: Lu, Xiao-Ming, Chen, Chang, Zheng, Tian-Ling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Science + Business Media 01.05.2017; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acetolactate Synthase - metabolism; Aconitate Hydratase - metabolism; Amino Acids - metabolism; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - enzymology; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - metabolism; Base Sequence; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biosynthesis; Brackish; Carbon Cycle; Carbon fixation; Chemical pollutants; Chemical pollution; China; Community composition; Ecology; ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY; Estuaries; Fresh Water; Freshwater; Geoecology/Natural Processes; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Geologic Sediments - microbiology; Ketone Oxidoreductases - metabolism; Life Sciences; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Metagenomics - methods; Microbial activity; Microbial Consortia - drug effects; Microbial Consortia - genetics; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Nature Conservation; Nitrobenzene; Nitrobenzenes - adverse effects; Phylogeny; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - adverse effects; Receiving waters; Rivers; Rivers - microbiology; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Salinity; Sediment samplers; Sequence Analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry; Water pollution; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Chemical pollutant; Metagenomics; Metabolic pathway; Estuarine sediment; Microbial community
• ISSN: 0095-3628; 1432-184X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00248-016-0868-8

Pyrosequencing and metagenomic profiling were used to assess the phylogenetic and functional characteristics of microbial communities residing in sediments collected from the estuaries of Rivers Oujiang (OS) and Jiaojiang (JS) in the western region of the East China Sea. Another sediment sample was obtained from near the shore far from estuaries, used for contrast (CS). Characterization of estuary sediment bacterial communities showed that toxic chemicals potentially reduced the natural variability in microbial communities, while they increased the microbial metabolic enzymes and pathways. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitrobenzene were negatively correlated with the bacterial community variation. The dominant class in the sediments was Gammaproteobacteria. According to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enzyme profiles, dominant enzymes were found in estuarine sediments, which increased greatly, such as 2-oxoglutarate synthase, acetolactate synthase, inorganic diphosphatase, and aconitate hydratase. In KEGG pathway profiles, most of the pathways were also dominated by specific metabolism in these sediments and showed a marked increase, for instance alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism, carbon fixation pathways in prokaryotes, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis. The estuarine sediment bacterial diversity varied with the polluted river water inputs. In the estuary receiving river water from the more seriously polluted River Oujiang, the sediment bacterial community function was more severely affected.