Assessing Freshwater Microbiomes from Different Storage Sources in the Caribbean Using DNA Metabarcoding

Area of Science:

• Environmental microbiology
• Molecular ecology
• Water quality assessment

Background:

• Traditional water quality testing methods have limitations in comprehensively characterizing microbial communities.
• Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and DNA metabarcoding offer advanced tools for microbial analysis.
• Previous studies highlight the utility of DNA metabarcoding for diverse drinking water sources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the application of DNA metabarcoding for characterizing bacterial microbiomes in private freshwater sources in Antigua and Barbuda.
• To compare microbial diversity and composition across different water storage systems (well, tank, cistern).
• To identify potentially pathogenic bacteria in these water sources.

Main Methods:

• Collected replicate water samples from three private residential sources: a well, an above-ground tank, and a cistern.
• Utilized 16S rRNA metabarcoding to assess bacterial microbiomes.
• Analyzed alpha and beta diversity, performed taxonomic analysis, and screened for pathogenic species.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in microbiome composition and relative abundance were observed between water sources.
• The cistern exhibited lower alpha diversity compared to the well and tank.
• Potentially pathogenic species or genera harboring them were detected in all tested water samples.

Conclusions:

• DNA metabarcoding provides an effective and comprehensive assessment of drinking water quality.
• This method can identify pathogenic species missed by traditional techniques.
• The approach shows potential for tracing disease outbreaks and is novel for small Caribbean island nations.