Impacts of municipal wastewater treatment plant discharge on microbial community structure and function of the receiving river in Northwest Tibetan Plateau

Jiawen Wang; Ying Chen; Pinggui Cai; Qiang Gao; Haohui Zhong; Weiling Sun; Qian Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127170

Impacts of municipal wastewater treatment plant discharge on microbial community structure and function of the receiving river in Northwest Tibetan Plateau

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Feb 5;423(Pt B):127170. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127170. Epub 2021 Sep 12.

Authors

Jiawen Wang¹, Ying Chen², Pinggui Cai², Qiang Gao³, Haohui Zhong¹, Weiling Sun⁴, Qian Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Materials Flux in River Ecosystems, Beijing 100871, China.
² College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China.
⁴ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Materials Flux in River Ecosystems, Beijing 100871, China; State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China.
⁵ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Materials Flux in River Ecosystems, Beijing 100871, China; State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China. Electronic address: qianchen@pku.edu.cn.

PMID: 34537645
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127170

Abstract

Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents carrying plenty of nutrients and micropollutants pose serious threats to receiving rivers, however, the response of microbial community structure and function to WWTP effluents discharge is still poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, paired water and sediment samples from 17 sites of the Huangshui River, and effluents from 6 WWTPs were collected to investigate the effect of WWTP discharge on riverine microbial communities. Our results revealed that WWTP effluents exerted significant effects on planktonic rather than sedimentary microorganisms in the receiving river. Notably, lower diversity and richness of planktonic communities were observed in the effluent-influenced section (WRW) than other river sections (RW) along the urban river. Meanwhile, network analysis potentially revealed lower stability of co-occurrence patterns of microbial communities in WRW. The remarkably higher antibiotics, nitrate-nitrogen, and water temperature in WRW samples caused by WWTPs played essential roles in shaping the structure and function of planktonic microbial communities. This study suggested the enrichment of multiple-drug resistance genes and destruction of energy metabolisms were caused by sewage effluents, and highlighted the importance of effective management strategies for protecting the ecological health of the receiving river.

Keywords: Function; Microbial community; River; Structure; Wastewater treatment plant.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Microbiota*
Rivers
Tibet
Wastewater
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
Water Purification*

Substances

Waste Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical