Title Different distribution patterns of microorganisms between aquaculture pond sediment and water
Author Lili Dai1, Chengqing Liu1,2, Liang Peng1, Chaofeng Song1, Xiaoli Li1, and Ling Tao1
Address 1Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 100141, P. R. China, 2College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, P. R. China
Bibliography Journal of Microbiology, 59(4),376–388, 2021,
DOI 10.1007/s12275-021-0635-5
Key Words eukaryotic microorganisms, bacterial community, sediment, water, aquaculture pond
Abstract Aquatic microorganisms in the sediment and water column are closely related; however, their distribution patterns between these two habitats still remain largely unknown. In this study, we compared sediment and water microeukaryotic and bacterial microorganisms in aquaculture ponds from different areas in China, and analyzed the influencing environmental factors as well as the inter-taxa relationships. We found that bacteria were significantly more abundant than fungi in both sediment and water, and the bacterial richness and diversity in sediment were higher than in water in all the sampling areas, but no significant differences were found between the two habitats for microeukaryotes. Bacterial taxa could be clearly separated through cluster analysis between the sediment and water, while eukaryotic taxa at all classification levels could not. Spirochaetea, Deltaproteobacteria, Nitrospirae, Ignavibacteriae, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, and Lentimicrobiaceae were more abundantly distributed in sediment, while Betaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacter, Cyanobacteria, Roseiflexaceae, Dinghuibacter, Cryomorphaceae, and Actinobacteria were more abundant in water samples. For eukaryotes, only Cryptomonadales were found to be distributed differently between the two habitats. Microorganisms in sediment were mainly correlated with enzymes related to organic matter decomposition, while water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient levels all showed significant correlation with the microbial communities in pond water. Intensive interspecific relationships were also found among eukaryotes and bacteria. Together, our results indicated that eukaryotic microorganisms are distributed less differently between sediment and water in aquaculture ponds compared to bacteria. This study provides valuable data for evaluating microbial distributions in aquatic environments, which may also be of practical use in aquaculture pond management.