Functional gene transcription variation in bacterial metatranscriptomes in large freshwater Lake Ecosystems: Implications for ecosystem and human health

Abstract

Little is known regarding the temporal and spatial functional variation of freshwater bacterial community (BC) under non-bloom conditions, especially in winter. To address this, we used metatranscriptomics to assess bacterial gene transcription variation among three sites across three seasons. Our metatranscriptome data for freshwater BCs at three public beaches (Ontario, Canada) sampled in the winter (no ice), summer and fall (2019) showed relatively little spatial, but a strong temporal variation. Our data showed high transcriptional activity in summer and fall but surprisingly, 89% of the KEGG pathway genes and 60% of the selected candidate genes (52 genes) associated with physiological and ecological activity were still active in freezing temperatures (winter). Our data also supported the possibility of an adaptively flexible gene expression response of the freshwater BC to low temperature conditions (winter). Only 32% of the bacterial genera detected in the samples were active, indicating that the majority of detected taxa were non-active (dormant). We also identified high seasonal variation in the abundance and activity of taxa associated with health risks (i.e., Cyanobacteria and waterborne bacterial pathogens). This study provides a baseline for further characterization of freshwater BCs, health-related microbial activity/dormancy and the main drivers of their functional variation (such as rapid human-induced environmental change and climate change).

Keywords: Bacterial function; Cyanotoxins; Dormancy; Great lakes; Metatranscriptomic; Pathogens; Virulence genes.