Assessing the in situ bacterial diversity and composition at anthropogenically active sites using the environmental...

Area of Science:

• Marine microbiology
• Environmental genomics
• Coastal ecology

Background:

• Coastal waters are increasingly impacted by anthropogenic inputs, altering microbial communities.
• Understanding bacterial community structure is crucial for assessing ecosystem health and pollution levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify in situ bacterial groups and their community structure in coastal waters affected by anthropogenic inputs.
• To evaluate the efficacy of environmental DNA (eDNA) and high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for bacterial monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Environmental DNA (eDNA) was extracted from coastal water samples.
• High-throughput sequencing (HTS) of the V3 and V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene was performed.
• Bacterial sequences were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) to analyze community composition and construct microbial networks.

Main Results:

• Significant variations in bacterial community composition were observed between nearshore anthropogenic hotspots and offshore samples.
• Microbial network analysis revealed strong positive and negative correlations within bacterial families.
• The study successfully identified specific bacterial groups and their abundance in relation to anthropogenic influence.

Conclusions:

• Environmental DNA (eDNA) coupled with high-throughput sequencing (HTS) is a powerful tool for assessing bacterial abundance and community structure in coastal environments.
• This approach serves as an effective biomonitoring tool for understanding the extent of anthropogenic contamination in marine ecosystems.