The effect of urbanization on planktonic and biofilm bacterial communities in different water bodies of the Danube River in Hungary

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 23881 - 12
• Main Authors: Lennert, Kinga J., Borsodi, Andrea K., Anda, Dóra, Krett, Gergely, Kós, Péter B., Engloner, Attila I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12-10-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/158; 631/326; 631/337; 692/700; 704/158; 704/172; Agricultural ecosystems; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Biodiversity; Biofilms; Biofilms - growth & development; Conservation areas; Conserved sequence; Ecosystem; Ecosystem services; Epilithic; Epiphytic; Genera; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hungary; Lakes; Lakes - microbiology; Metropolitan; Microbial communities; multidisciplinary; Nature conservation; Oxbow lakes; Plankton - genetics; Planktonic; Pollution tolerance; Rivers; Rivers - microbiology; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; rRNA 16S; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Taxonomy; Urbanization; Water Microbiology; Water quality; Hungary; Danube River; Epilithic; Planktonic; Danube River; Water quality; Microbial communities; Epiphytic; Metropolitan
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-75863-7

Freshwaters play an essential role in providing ecosystem services worldwide, however, the water quality of different water bodies is strongly influenced by human activities such as urbanization, industry and agriculture. In this study, water and biofilm samples were collected from the main channel of the Danube River upstream and downstream of a metropolitan, from a regulated side arm within an urbanized area, and from two differently separated oxbow lakes located in nature conservation areas. The taxonomic diversity of bacterial communities was revealed by 16S rRNA gene-based amplicon sequencing using Illumina MiSeq platform. The results showed that all samples were dominated by phyla Pseudomonadota, Actinobacteriota and Bacteroidota. The bacterial community structures, however, clearly differentiated according to planktonic and epilithic or epiphytic habitats, as well as by riverine body types (main channel, side arm, oxbow lakes). The taxonomic diversity of biofilm communities was higher than that of planktonic ones in all studied habitats. Human impacts were mainly reflected in the slowly changing biofilm composition compared to the planktonic ones. Genera with pollution tolerance and/or degradation potential, such as
Acinetobacter
,
Pseudomonas
and
Shewanella
were mainly detected in biofilm communities of the highly urbanized section of the river side arm.