Impact of grazing by multiple Daphnia species on wastewater bacterial communities

Understanding the dynamics of fecal bacterial communities is crucial for managing public health risks and protecting drinking water resources. While extensive research exists on how abiotic factors influence the survival of fecal microbial communities in water, less attention has been paid to the impact of predation by higher organisms, such as the widely distributed grazer Daphnia. Nevertheless, Daphnia plays a significant role in regulating bacterial communities in natural aquatic ecosystems, and recent studies highlighted its potential as a biofilter in alternative tertiary wastewater treatment systems. In this study, we investigated the influence of three different Daphnia species on a wastewater bacterial community, including fecal indicator bacterium E. coli. Using a microcosm setup to simulate the discharge of untreated sewage into surface water, we conducted in-depth analysis of bacterial community dynamics through sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. Our results revealed significant changes in microbial diversity and composition following exposure to Daphnia grazing, with variations observed among the three Daphnia species. D. pulicaria exerted the most pronounced impact on microbial diversity, followed by D. middendorffiana and D. mendotae. A total of 90 taxa exhibited significantly reduced relative abundance in the presence of Daphnia, with Firmicutes phylum being the most affected. At genus level, bacteria typically associated with wastewater (e.g., Zoogloea and Arcobacter) and gut microbiome constituents (e.g., Prevotella and Akkermansia) were notably affected by Daphnia exposure. The influence of Daphnia on bacterial community composition was most pronounced for D. pulicaria, while D. middendorffiana and D. mendotae primarily impacted community structure. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the microbial response to Daphnia exposure is phylogenetically conserved, potentially reflecting a grazing resistance or grazer feeding trait. Our findings shed new light on the role of Daphnia in controlling bacterial communities in polluted water bodies and underscore its potential as biofilter in wastewater treatment and reuse contexts.