Dataset Information

Metabarcoding Analysis of Bacterial Communities Associated with Media Grow Bed Zones in an Aquaponic System.

ABSTRACT: The development of environmentally sustainable plant and fish production in aquaponic systems requires a complete understanding of the systems' biological components. In order to better understand the role of microorganisms in this association, we studied the bacterial communities in the dry, root, and mineralized zones of a flood-and-drain media bed aquaponic system. Bacterial communities were characterized using metabarcoding of the V3-V4 16S rRNA regions obtained from paired-end Illumina MiSeq reads. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes accounted for more than 90% of the total community in the dry zone and the effluent water. These phyla also accounted for more than 68% of the total community in the root and mineralized zones. The genera Massilia, Mucilaginibacter, Mizugakiibacter, and Rhodoluna were most dominant in the dry, root, and mineralized zones and in the effluent water, respectively. The number of shared operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for the three zones was 241, representing 7.15% of the total observed OTUs. The number of unique OTUs in samples from dry zone, root zone, mineralized zone, and effluent water was 485, 638, 445, and 383, respectively. The samples from the root zone harbored more diverse communities than either the dry or mineralized zones. This study is the first to report on the bacterial community within the zones of a flood-and-drain media bed. Thus, this information will potentially accelerate studies on other microbial communities involved in the bioconversion of nitrogen compounds and mineralization within these types of aquaponic systems.

SUBMITTER: Kasozi N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7547338 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Metabarcoding Analysis of Bacterial Communities Associated with Media Grow Bed Zones in an Aquaponic System.

Kasozi Nasser N Kaiser Horst H Wilhelmi Brendan B

International journal of microbiology 20201001

The development of environmentally sustainable plant and fish production in aquaponic systems requires a complete understanding of the systems' biological components. In order to better understand the role of microorganisms in this association, we studied the bacterial communities in the dry, root, and mineralized zones of a flood-and-drain media bed aquaponic system. Bacterial communities were characterized using metabarcoding of the V3-V4 16S rRNA regions obtained from paired-end Illumina MiSe ...[more]

PMID: 33061984

Similar Datasets

Project description:Lack of access to clean water and sanitation is a major factor impacting public health in communities worldwide. To address this, the S-Lab at Providence College and the Global Sustainable Aid Project developed a microflush composting toilet system to isolate and treat human waste. Solid waste is composted within a filter-digester bed via an aerobic process involving microbes and invertebrates. Liquid waste may be sanitized by solar disinfection (SODIS) or slow sand filtration (SSF). Here, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of samples from a scaled-down test version of the system to better understand the bacterial component of the toilet system. Immediately after fecal matter was deposited in the test system, the bacterial community of the filter-digester bed at the site of deposition resembled that of the human gut at both the phylum and genus level, which was expected. Genus-level analysis of filter-digester bed samples collected over the next 30 days from the site of deposition showed reduced or undetectable levels of fecal-associated taxa, with the exception of Clostridium XI, which persisted at low abundance throughout the sampling period. Starting with the sample collected on day 4, the bacterial community of the filter-digester bed at the site of deposition was dominated by bacterial taxa commonly associated with environmental sources, reflecting a major shift in bacterial community composition. These data support the toilet system's capacity for processing solid human waste. We also analyzed how SODIS and SSF sanitization methods affected the bacterial community composition of liquid effluent collected on day 15 from the test system. Untreated and treated liquid effluent samples were dominated by Proteobacteria. At the genus level, the bacterial community of the untreated effluent included taxa commonly associated with environmental sources. In the SODIS-treated effluent, these genera increased in abundance, whereas in the SSF-treated effluent, they were greatly reduced or undetectable. By analyzing operational taxonomic units that were unclassified at the genus level, we observed that SSF appears to introduce new taxa into the treated effluent, likely from the biological film of microbes and small animals that constitutes the key element of SSF. These data will inform continued development of liquid waste handling strategies for the toilet system. Using the test system as an indicator of the performance of the full-scale version, we have shown the effectiveness of the microflush composting toilet system for containing and eliminating gut-associated bacteria, thereby improving sanitation and contributing to better public health in rural and peri-urban communities.

Project description:This study applied a 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach to characterize bacterial community compositional and functional attributes for surface water samples collected within, primarily, agriculturally dominated watersheds in Ontario and Québec, Canada. Compositional heterogeneity was best explained by stream order, season, and watercourse discharge. Generally, community diversity was higher at agriculturally dominated lower order streams, compared to larger stream order systems such as small to large rivers. However, during times of lower relative water flow and cumulative 2-day rainfall, modestly higher relative diversity was found in the larger watercourses. Bacterial community assemblages were more sensitive to environmental/land use changes in the smaller watercourses, relative to small-to-large river systems, where the proximity of the sampled water column to bacteria reservoirs in the sediments and adjacent terrestrial environment was greater. Stream discharge was the environmental variable most significantly correlated (all positive) with bacterial functional groups, such as C/N cycling and plant pathogens. Comparison of the community structural similarity via network analyses helped to discriminate sources of bacteria in freshwater derived from, for example, wastewater treatment plant effluent and intensity and type of agricultural land uses (e.g., intensive swine production vs. dairy dominated cash/livestock cropping systems). When using metabarcoding approaches, bacterial community composition and coexisting pattern rather than individual taxonomic lineages, were better indicators of environmental/land use conditions (e.g., upstream land use) and bacterial sources in watershed settings. Overall, monitoring changes and differences in aquatic microbial communities at regional and local watershed scales has promise for enhancing environmental footprinting and for better understanding nutrient cycling and ecological function of aquatic systems impacted by a multitude of stressors and land uses.

Dataset Information

Metabarcoding Analysis of Bacterial Communities Associated with Media Grow Bed Zones in an Aquaponic System.

Publications

Metabarcoding Analysis of Bacterial Communities Associated with Media Grow Bed Zones in an Aquaponic System.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets