Dataset Information

Diuron tolerance and potential degradation by pelagic microbiomes in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

ABSTRACT: Diuron is a herbicide commonly used in agricultural areas where excess application causes it to leach into rivers, reach sensitive marine environments like the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon and pose risks to marine life. To investigate the impact of diuron on whole prokaryotic communities that underpin the marine food web and are integral to coral reef health, GBR lagoon water was incubated with diuron at environmentally-relevant concentration (8 µg/L), and sequenced at specific time points over the following year. 16S rRNA gene amplicon profiling revealed no significant short- or long-term effect of diuron on microbiome structure. The relative abundance of prokaryotic phototrophs was not significantly altered by diuron, which suggests that they were largely tolerant at this concentration. Assembly of a metagenome derived from waters sampled at a similar location in the GBR lagoon did not reveal the presence of mutations in the cyanobacterial photosystem that could explain diuron tolerance. However, resident phages displayed several variants of this gene and could potentially play a role in tolerance acquisition. Slow biodegradation of diuron was reported in the incubation flasks, but no correlation with the relative abundance of heterotrophs was evident. Analysis of metagenomic reads supports the hypothesis that previously uncharacterized hydrolases carried by low-abundance species may mediate herbicide degradation in the GBR lagoon. Overall, this study offers evidence that pelagic phototrophs of the GBR lagoon may be more tolerant of diuron than other tropical organisms, and that heterotrophs in the microbial seed bank may have the potential to degrade diuron and alleviate local anthropogenic stresses to inshore GBR ecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Angly FE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4793316 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Diuron tolerance and potential degradation by pelagic microbiomes in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

Angly Florent E FE Pantos Olga O Morgan Thomas C TC Rich Virginia V Tonin Hemerson H Bourne David G DG Mercurio Philip P Negri Andrew P AP Tyson Gene W GW

PeerJ 20160308

Diuron is a herbicide commonly used in agricultural areas where excess application causes it to leach into rivers, reach sensitive marine environments like the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon and pose risks to marine life. To investigate the impact of diuron on whole prokaryotic communities that underpin the marine food web and are integral to coral reef health, GBR lagoon water was incubated with diuron at environmentally-relevant concentration (8 µg/L), and sequenced at specific time points ov ...[more]

PMID: 26989611

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Project description:Trichodesmium, a filamentous bloom-forming marine cyanobacterium, plays a key role in the biogeochemistry of oligotrophic ocean regions because of the ability to fix nitrogen. Naturally occurring in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the contribution of Trichodesmium to the nutrient budget may be of the same order as that entering the system via catchment runoff. However, the cyclicity of Trichodesmium in the GBR is poorly understood and sparsely documented because of the lack of sufficient observations. This study provides the first systematic analysis of Trichodesmium spatial and temporal occurrences in the GBR over the decade-long MERIS ocean color mission (2002-2012). Trichodesmium surface expressions were detected using the Maximum Chlorophyll Index (MCI) applied to MERIS satellite imagery of the GBR lagoonal waters. The MCI performed well (76%), albeit tested on a limited set of images (N = 25) coincident with field measurements. A north (Cape York) to south (Fitzroy) increase in the extent, frequency and timing of the surface expressions characterized the GBR, with surface expressions extending over several hundreds of kilometers. The two southernmost subregions Mackay and Fitzroy accounted for the most (70%) bloom events. The bloom timing of Trichodesmium varied from May in the north to November in the south, with wet season conditions less favorable to Trichodesmium aggregations. MODIS-Aqua Sea Surface Temperature (SST) datasets, wind speed and field measurements of nutrient concentrations were used in combination with MCI positive instances to assess the blooms' driving factors. Low wind speed (<6 m.s-1) and SST > 24°C were associated with the largest surface aggregations. Generalized additive models (GAM) indicated an increase in bloom occurrences over the 10-year period with seasonal bloom patterns regionally distinct. Interannual variability in SST partially (14%) explained bloom occurrences, and other drivers, such as the subregion and the nutrient budget, likely regulate Trichodesmium surface aggregations in the GBR.

Dataset Information

Diuron tolerance and potential degradation by pelagic microbiomes in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

Publications

Diuron tolerance and potential degradation by pelagic microbiomes in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

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