Strong bacterial stochasticity and fast fungal turnover in Taihu Lake sediments, China

Shu-Hang Wang; Sheng-Wu Yuan; Fei-Fei Che; Xin Wan; Yi-Fei Wang; Dian-Hai Yang; Hai-Jiang Yang; Dong Zhu; Peng Chen

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.116954

Strong bacterial stochasticity and fast fungal turnover in Taihu Lake sediments, China

Environ Res. 2023 Nov 15;237(Pt 2):116954. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116954. Epub 2023 Aug 22.

Authors

Shu-Hang Wang¹, Sheng-Wu Yuan², Fei-Fei Che², Xin Wan³, Yi-Fei Wang⁴, Dian-Hai Yang⁵, Hai-Jiang Yang⁶, Dong Zhu⁴, Peng Chen⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
² National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: yangdianhai@tongji.edu.cn.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (MOE), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China. Electronic address: chenpeng@wbgcas.cn.

PMID: 37619629
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116954

Abstract

Understanding the assembly and turnover of microbial communities is crucial for gaining insights into the diversity and functioning of lake ecosystems, a fundamental and central issue in microbial ecology. The ecosystem of Taihu Lake has been significantly jeopardized due to urbanization and industrialization. In this study, we examined the diversity, assembly, and turnover of bacterial and fungal communities in Taihu Lake sediment. The results revealed strong bacterial stochasticity and fast fungal turnover in the sediment. Significant heterogeneity was observed among all sediment samples in terms of environmental factors, especially ORP, TOC, and TN, as well as microbial community composition and alpha diversity. For instance, the fungal richness index exhibited an approximate 3-fold variation. Among the environmental factors, TOC, TN, and pH had a more pronounced influence on the bacterial community composition compared to the fungal community composition. Interestingly, species replacement played a dominant role in microbial beta diversity, with fungi exhibiting a stronger pattern. In contrast, stochastic processes governed the community assembly of both bacteria and fungi, but were more pronounced for bacteria (R² = 0.7 vs. 0.5). These findings deepen the understanding of microbial assembly and turnover in sediments under environmental stress and provide essential insights for maintaining the multifunctionality of lake ecosystems.

Keywords: Community assembly; Lake ecosystems; Microbial diversity; Microbial turnover; Sediment.