Using Bioinformatics to Quantify the Variability and Diversity of the Microbial Community Structure in Pond Ecosystems of a Subtropical Catchment

Title:Using Bioinformatics to Quantify the Variability and Diversity of the Microbial Community Structure in Pond Ecosystems of a Subtropical Catchment

Volume: 15 Issue: 10

Author(s): Jiaogen Zhou*, Yang Wang and Qiuliang Lei

Affiliation:

• School of Urban and Environmental Science, Huaiyin Normal University, Jiangsu 223300,China

Keywords: Functional diversity, microbial community, N and P fractions, OUT annotation, pond ecosystems, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, water quality.

Abstract:

Background: In rural China, many natural water bodies and farmlands have been converted into fish farming ponds as an economic developmental strategy. There is still a limited understanding of how the diversity and structure of microbial communities change in nature and become managed fish pond ecosystems.

Objective: We aimed to identify the changes of the diversity and structure of microbial community and driving mechanism in pond ecosystems.

Methods: The datasets of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and the concentrations of N and P fractions were achieved in water samples of pond ecosystems. Bioinformatics analysis was used to analyze the diversity and structure of the microbial communities.

Results: Our results indicated that the diversity and structure of the microbial communities in the natural ponds were significantly different from ones in managed fish ponds. The nutrients of N and P and water environmental factors were responsible for 46.3% and 19.5% of the changes in the structure and diversity of the microbial community, respectively.

Conclusion: The N and P fractions and water environmental factors influenced the microbial community structure and diversity in pond ecosystems. Fish farming indirectly affected the microbial community by altering the contents of N and P fractions in water bodies of ponds, when a natural pond was converted into a managed fish pond.

Cite this article as:

Zhou Jiaogen*, Wang Yang and Lei Qiuliang , Using Bioinformatics to Quantify the Variability and Diversity of the Microbial Community Structure in Pond Ecosystems of a Subtropical Catchment, Current Bioinformatics 2020; 15 (10) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1574893615999200422120819