Immediate and legacy effects of snow exclusion on soil fungal diversity and community composition

Background:Soil fungi play crucial roles in ecosystem functions.However,how snow cover change associated with winter warming affects soil fungal communities remains unclear in the Tibetan forest.Methods:We conducted a snow manipulation experiment to explore immediate and legacy effects of snow exclusion on soil fungal community diversity and composition in a spruce forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau.Soil fungal communities were performed by the high throughput sequencing of gene-fragments.Results:Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the two dominant fungal phyla and Archaeorhizomyces,Aspergillus and Amanita were the three most common genera across seasons and snow manipulations.Snow exclusion did not affect the diversity and structure of soil fungal community in both snow-covered and snow-free seasons.However,the relative abundance of some fungal communities was different among seasons.Soil fungal groups were correlated with environmental factors(i.e.,temperature and moisture)and soil biochemical variables(i.e.,ammonium and enzyme).Conclusions:These results suggest that the season-driven variations had stronger impacts on soil fungal community than short-term snow cover change.Such findings may have important implications for soil microbial processes in Tibetan forests experiencing significant decreases in snowfall.

Plant property regulates soil bacterial community structure under altered precipitation regimes in a semi-arid desert grassland, China

Variations of precipitation have great impacts on soil carbon cycle and decomposition of soil organic matter.Soil bacteria are crucial participants in regulating these ecological processes and vulnerable to altered precipitation.Studying the impacts of altered precipitation on soil bacterial community structure can provide a novel insight into the potential impacts of altered precipitation on soil carbon cycle and carbon storage of grassland.Therefore,soil bacterial community structure under a precipitation manipulation experiment was researched in a semi-arid desert grassland in Chinese Loess Plateau.Five precipitation levels,i.e.,control,reduced and increased precipitation by 40%and 20%,respectively(referred here as CK,DP40,DP20,IP40,and IP20)were set.The results showed that soil bacterial alpha diversity and rare bacteria significantly changed with altered precipitation,but the dominant bacteria and soil bacterial beta diversity did not change,which may be ascribed to the ecological strategy of soil bacteria.The linear discriminate analysis(LDA)effect size(LEfSe)method found that major response patterns of soil bacteria to altered precipitation were resource-limited and drought-tolerant populations.In addition,increasing precipitation greatly promoted inter-species competition,while decreasing precipitation highly facilitated inter-species cooperation.These changes in species interaction can promote different distribution ratios of bacterial populations under different precipitation conditions.In structural equation model(SEM)analysis,with changes in precipitation,plant growth characteristics were found to be drivers of soil bacterial community composition,while soil properties were not.In conclusion,our results indicated that in desert grassland ecosystem,the sensitive of soil rare bacteria to altered precipitation was stronger than that of dominant taxa,which may be related to the ecological strategy of bacteria,species interaction,and precipitation-induced variations of plant growth characteristics.

Changes in Transformation of Soil Organic C and Functional Diversity of Soil Microbial Community Under Different Land Uses

Changes in soil biological and biochemical properties under different land uses in the subtropical region of China were investigated in order to develop rational cultivation and fertilization management. A small watershed of subtropical region of China was selected for this study. Land uses covered paddy fields, vegetable farming, fruit trees, upland crops, bamboo stands, and forestry. Soil biological and biochemical properties included soil organic C and nutrient contents, mineralization of soil organic C, and soil microbial biomass and community functional diversity. Soil organic C and total N contents, microbial biomass C and N, and respiration intensity under different land uses were changed in the following order： paddy fields （and vegetable farming） 〉 bamboo stands 〉 fruit trccs （and upland）. The top surface （0-15 cm） paddy fields （and vegetable farming） were 76.4 and 80.8% higher in soil organic C and total N contents than fruit trees （and upland） soils, respectively. Subsurface paddy soils （15-30 cm） were 59.8 and 67.3% higher in organic C and total N than upland soils, respectively. Soil microbial C, N and respiration intensity in paddy soils （0-15 cm） were 6.36, 3.63 and 3.20 times those in fruit tree （and upland） soils respectively. Soil microbial metabolic quotient was in the order： fruit trees （and upland） 〉 forestry 〉 paddy fields. Metabolic quotient in paddy soils was only 47.7% of that in fruit tree （and upland） soils. Rates of soil organic C mineralization during incubation changed in the order： paddy fields 〉 bamboo stands 〉 fruit trees （and upland） and soil bacteria population： paddy fields 〉 fruit trees （and upland） 〉 forestry. No significant difference was found for fungi and actinomycetes populations. BIOLOG analysis indicated a changing order of paddy fields 〉 fruit trees （and upland） 〉 forestry in values of the average well cell development （AWCD） and functional diversity indexes of microbial community. Results also showed that the conversion from paddy fields to vegetable farming for 5 years resulted in a dramatic increase in soil available phosphorus content while insignificant changes in soil organic C and total N content due to a large inputs of phosphate fertilizers. This conversion caused 53, 41.5, and 41.3% decreases in soil microbial biomass C, N, and respiration intensity, respectively, while 23.6% increase in metabolic quotient and a decrease in soil organic C mineralization rate. Moreover, soil bacteria and actinomycetes populations were increased slightly, while fungi population increased dramatically. Functional diversity indexes of soil microbial community decreased significantly. It was concluded that land uses in the subtropical region of China strongly affected soil biological and biochemical properties. Soil organic C and nutrient contents, mineralization of organic C and functional diversity of microbial community in paddy fields were higher than those in upland and forestry. Overuse of chemical fertilizers in paddy fields with high fertility might degrade soil biological properties and biochemical function, resulting in deterioration of soil biological quality.

Wheat, maize and sunflower cropping systems selectively influence bacteria community structure and diversity in their and succeeding crop's rhizosphere

supported by the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest in China （201103001）

Host plant traits play a crucial role in shaping the composition of epiphytic microbiota in the arid desert,Northwest China

Phyllosphere microorganisms are a crucial component of environmental microorganisms,highly influenced by host characteristics,and play a significant role in plant health and productivity.Nonetheless,the impact of host characteristics on shaping phyllosphere microbial communities of plants with different life forms remains ambiguous.Utilizing high-throughput sequencing technology,this study analyzed the diversity and community composition of phyllosphere epiphytic microorganisms(e.g.,bacteria and fungi)of various plant life forms in the hinterland of the Gurbantunggut Desert,Northwest China.Functional annotation of prokaryotic taxa(FAPROTAX)and fungi function guild(FUNGuild)were employed to assess the ecological functions of microorganisms and to investigate the role of stochastic and deterministic processes in shaping phyllosphere microbial communities.Result showed a diverse array of phyllosphere epiphytic microorganisms in the desert plants,with Proteobacteria,Cyanobacteria,and Actinobacteriota dominating bacterial community,while Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were prevalent in fungal community.Comparison across different plant life forms highlighted distinct microbial communities,indicating strong filtering effects by plant characteristics.FAPROTAX prediction identified intracellular parasites(accounting for 27.44%of bacterial community abundance),chemoheterotrophy(10.12%),and phototrophy(17.41%)as the main functions of epiphytic bacteria on leaves of different life form plants.FUNGuild prediction indicated that phyllosphere epiphytic fungi primarily served as Saprotrophs(81.77%),Pathotrophs(17.41%),and Symbiotrophs(0.82%).Co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated a predominance of positive correlations among different microbial taxa.Raup-Crick dissimilarity index analysis revealed that deterministic processes predominantly influenced phyllosphere bacterial and fungal community assembly.Variance partitioning analysis and random forest modeling suggested that plant leaf functional traits significantly impacted both bacterial and fungal community composition,with fungal community composition showing a closer association with leaf nutrients and physiology compared with bacterial community composition.The distinct responses of bacterial and fungal communities to plant traits were attributed to the differing properties of bacteria and fungi,such as bacteria having higher potential dispersal rates and broader ecological niches than fungi.Overall,the results indicate that phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities undergo similar community assembly processes,with fungi being more influenced by plant characteristics than bacteria.These findings offer novel insights into the ecology of phyllosphere microbial communities of desert plants.

Combined Effects of Cadmium and Butachlor on Microbial Activities and Community DNA in a Paddy Soil

Due to frequent soil Cd contamination and wide use of butachlor in China,there is a need to assess their combined toxicity to soil microorganisms.The combined effects of cadmium(Cd,10 mg kg-1 soil) and herbicide butachlor(10,50,and 100 mg kg-1 soil) on enzyme activities and microbial community structure in a paddy soil were assessed using the traditional enzyme assays and random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD) analysis.The results showed that urease and phosphatase activities were significantly reduced by high butachlor concentration(100 mg kg-1 soil).When the concentrations of Cd and butachlor added were at a ratio of 1:10,urease and phosphatase activities were significantly decreased whereas enzyme activities were greatly improved at the ratio of 1:5,which indicated that the combined effects of Cd and butachlor on soil urease and phosphatase activities depended largely on their addition concentration ratios.Random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD) analysis showed loss of original bands and appearance of new bands when compared with the control soil.Random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprints suggested substantial differences between the control and treated soil samples,with apparent changes in the number and size of amplified DNA fragments.The addition of high concentration butachlor and the combined impacts of Cd and butachlor significantly affected the diversity of the microbial community.RAPD analysis in conjunction with other biomarkers such as soil enzyme parameters would prove a powerful ecotoxicological tool.Further investigations should be carried out to understand the clear link between RAPD patterns and enzyme activity.

Impact of Long-Term Fertilization on Cropland Soil Fauna Community at Loess Soil, Shannxi, China

The relationship between long-term fertilization and cropland network for soil fertility and fertilizers in Loess soil of Shannxi soil fauna was studied at the station＇s experiment research Provincefrom Jul. 2001 to Oct. 2002. Six types of long-term fertilizer were carried out for this study including non-fertilizer （CK）, abandonment （ABAND）, nitrogenous and phosphors and potassium fertilizers combined （NPK）, straw and NPK （SNPK）, organic material and NPK （MNPK） and 1.5 times MNPK （1.5MNPK）. 72 soil samples were collected and 5 495 species of cropland soil fauna obtained by handsorting and Cobb methods at 4 times, belonging to 6 Phyla, 11 Classes, 22 Orders, 2 Superfamilies, 61 Families and 35 Genera. The result showed that different fertilizer had significantly impacted on the cropland soil fauna （F = 2.24, P〈0.007）. The number of the cropland soil fauna was related to the soil physicochemical properties caused by long-term fertilization. The result by principal component analysis, focusing on the number of 15 key soil fauna species group＇s diversity, evenness of community and the total soil fauna individuals indicated that the effects of SNPK, NPK, MNPK and 1.5MNPK were significantly different from that of the cropland soil fauna, in which, SNPK and NPK had the positive effect on cropland soil fauna, and MNPK and 1.5 MNPK had the negative affect, others could not be explained. By principal component I, the synthetic effect of different fertilization on the total soil fauna individuals and the group was most significant, and the effect was little on evenness and diversity. By value of eigenvectors, the maximum one was 9.6248, and the minimum one was - 1.0904, that means the 6 types of fertilization did not affect evenly the cropland soil fauna.

Spatial and diel variations of the prokaryotic community in the Phaeocystis globosa blooms area of Beibu Gulf,China

While prokaryotes play key roles in nutrient cycling and energy flow during Phaeocystis globosa blooms,the information on the spatial and diel temporal distribution of the prokaryotic community during Phaeocystis blooms remains scarce.In January 2019,we used high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to explore the spatial and diel variations of particle-attached(PA)and free-living(FL)prokaryotic communities during the blooming phase of P.globosa in Beibu Gulf,Guangxi,China.The results suggested a significant spatial variation pattern in the horizontal distribution of prokaryotic communities,while there was no significant difference in the vertical direction.Both spatial distance and environmental variables shaped the horizontal distribution of the prokaryotic community structure,while environmental variables,particularly the abundance of P.globosa colony and Chl a,showed more significant influence and were closely related to the structure and variation of the prokaryotic community.Strong vertical mixing of the water column disrupted the vertical structure heterogeneity of the prokaryotic community in winter.There were significant differences in the diel samples of PA prokaryotic communities,but not in the FL prokaryotic communities.Nitrate,ammonium and the abundance of P.globosa colony were the key environmental variables impacting the diel variations of prokaryotic communities over the sampling period.The present study provided valuable information to depict the spatial-temporal variations of the microbial community and its association with environmental parameters during P.globosa bloom in the tropical gulf.

Diversity of insect communities with different development phases in natural Populus euphratica forests in Xinjiang

An investigation method with sample plots was used to study insect communities in four different growth phases of natural Populus euphratica forests, which are juvenile, middle aged, over-mature and degraded forests, in Tarim, Xinjiang in July, 2005 and April, 2006. In our studies, 5,116 insect specimens, belonging to 12 orders, 61 families and 141 species, were collected. Lepidoptera and Coleoptera were the dominant orders. In middle-aged forests, species, individual numbers and diversity indices of insect com-munities were higher than those in other woodlands. The species richness and diversity indices were lowest in degraded forests be-cause of extremely scarce vegetation.

Diversity and Selectivity of Flowervisiting Insects in Xipu Forest Park

[Objective]This study was conducted to understand the species and quantity of flowervisiting insects in Xipu Forest Park,supplement the data of local flowervisiting insects,and fill the research gap of flowervisiting insects in the Lesser Hinggan Mountain.[Method]The methods of route survey and sample plot survey were used to investigate the community of flowervisiting insects,and the method of net catching was used to collect flowervisiting insects and record relevant data.[Results]A total of 1526 flowervisiting insects belonging to 79 species,27 families and 9 orders were found.Among them,Lepidoptera was the most,accounting for 40.51%,while Odonata,Mantodea,Hemiptera and Thysanoptera are the least.The results showed that the insect diversity index and insect dominance index were higher in the flower cultivation area,the insect evenness index was highest in the lawn area,and the flowervisiting insects in arbor area and flower shrub area were more similar.Rosaceae had the most flowervisiting insects,followed by Compositae,Cruciferae and Leguminosae.[Significance]The study provides scientific basis and data support for the rational development and utilization,biodiversity protection and sustainable development of forest parks.

Seasonal dynamics of wintering waterbirds in two shallow lakes along Yangtze River in Anhui Province

The shallow lake wetlands in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain are important wintering and stopover habitats for migratory waterbirds on the East Asia-Australia Flyway.With increasing fishery practices in recent years,however,the wetlands have deteriorated significantly and now threaten wintering waterbirds.To gain insight into the influence of deteriorating wetlands on waterbirds,we conducted a survey of wintering waterbird species,population size,and distribution across 11 belt transects in Caizi Lake and Shengjin Lake,two shallow lakes along the Yangtze River in Anhui Province from November 2007-April 2008 and from November 2008-April 2009,respectively.The impacts of different fishery patterns on the distribution of waterbirds were also analyzed.A total of 43 waterbirds species belong to 7 orders of 12 families were counted during the surveys,of which 38 were found in Caizi Lake with a density of 8.2 ind./hm2,and 42 in Shengjin Lake with a density of 3.5 ind./hm2.Geese（Anser cygnoides）,bean geese（Anser fabalis）,tundra swan（Cygnus columbianus）,and dunlin（Calidris alpina） were the dominant species in the two shallow lakes.Species number and individual assemble reached maximum at the end of December and in early January of the following year,without coincidence of the largest flock for different ecological groups.Based on waterbird diversity across the 11 belt transects and the fishery patterns,habitats could be divided into three groups.Gruiformes,Anseriformes and Charadriiformes had relatively higher densities in the natural fishery zones and lower densities in the cage fishery zones;whereas,the density of Ardeidae showed little change across all lake zones.It is important to develop sustainable fishery patterns in shallow lakes along the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain to better protect resources of wintering waterbirds.

Comparison of microbial communities in three different mine drainages and their bioleaching efficiencies to low grade of chalcopyrite

Microbial community diversities in the drainage from three mines(Dexing Copper Mine,Qibaoshan Copper Mine and Yaogangxian Tungsten Mine,China)were analyzed using 16S rDNA PCR-RFLP approach.The efficiencies of chalcopyrite bioleaching were compared using enrichment of the three cultures.Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the dominant microorganisms are clustered with the Proteobacteria,the remaining is affiliated with Nitrospira,Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria.At the genus level,Acidithiobacillus is the dominant group in both YTW and QBS samples,while Spingomonas is dominant in YGX sample.Moreover,the principal component analysis(PCA)reveals that QBS and YTW have similar geochemical character and microbial communities.The results also show that pH value and tungsten concentration play a key role in microbial community distribution and relative abundance.The bioleaching efficiency of the enrichment cultures from YTW and QBS is similar.After 15 d,the bioleaching rates of low grade chalcopyrite(0.99%)are both up to 99.5% when using 10 g/L pulp density due to the similar microbial composition of YTW and QBS.Moreover,the leaching efficiencies of enrichment cultures containing multiple bioleaching microorganisms are higher than that of pure culture Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans.

Seasonal variation of plankton communities influenced by environmental factors in an artificial lake

We evaluated the seasonal variation in plankton community composition in an artificial lake. We conducted microscopic analysis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified partial 16S rRNAand 18S rRNAgenes to characterize the plankton community. The clustering of unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) was then used to investigate the similarity of these plankton communities. DGGE fingerprinting revealed that samples collected at the different sites within a season shared high similarity and were generally grouped together. In contrast, we did not observe any seasonal variation based on microscopic analysis. Redundancy analysis (RDA) of the plankton operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in relation to environmental factors revealed that transparency was negatively correlated with the first axis (R=-0.931), and temperature and total phosphorus (TP) were positively correlated with the first axis (R=0.736 and R=0.660, respectively). In conclusion, plankton communities in the artificial lake exhibited significant seasonal variation. Transparency, phosphorus and temperature appear to be the major factors driving the differences in plankton composition.

Characterization of marine microplankton communities of Qingdao coastal areas using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD)

Microplankton communities of three coastal sites of Qingdao,Shandong Province,China were investigated using RAPD（random amplified polymorphic DNA） molecular markers and morphological observations.Eight RAPD-primers were selected to amplify the DNA polymorphy.The genetic distances inferred from the pairwise similarities were calculated for the phylogenetic tree construction.Meantime,the traditional microscopic determination,a way of visualizing the species composition,was performed to detect the major taxa of microplanktons from all samples.Results showed that：（1） the band sharing index values were in the range of 0.504 2-0.763 2 among samples from the same sampling site at different time scales,while 0.406 5-0.685 7 among the samples from different stations at the same time scales,indicating that spatial variations of microplankton communities were more pronounced than temporal ones;（2） samples from the same station basically clustered together,corresponding to the geographic distribution of the sampling sites;（3） diversity derived from genetic and morphological data did not correspond with each other well.

Distribution of Bacterial Communities in Petroleum-Contaminated Soils from the Dagang Oilfield, China

Diversity in bacterial communities was investigated along a petroleum hydrocarbon content gradient(0-0.4043 g/g)in surface(5-10 cm)and subsurface(35-40 cm)petroleum-contaminated soil samples from the Dagang Oilfield,China.Using 16S rRNA Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology and several statistical methods,the bacterial diversity of the soil was studied.Subsequently,the environmental parameters were measured to analyze its relationship with the community variation.Nonmetric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarities indicated a significant difference in the structure of the bacterial community between the nonpetroleum-contaminated surface and subsurface soils,but no differences were observed in different depths of petroleum-contaminated soil.Meanwhile,many significant correlations were obtained between diversity in soil bacterial community and physicochemical properties.Total petroleum hydrocarbon,total organic carbon,and total nitrogen were the three important factors that had the greatest impacts on the bacterial community distribution in the long-term petroleum-contaminated soils.Our research has provided references for the bacterial community distribution along a petroleum gradient in both surface and subsurface petroleum-contaminated soils of oilfield areas.

Full-scale application of microbial agent on in-situ sludge reduction

The full-scale application of Tx-1, a multifunctional microbial agent, was carried out for 8 months in an anoxic/oxic（A/O） municipal wastewater treatment process. The results show that the Tx-1 dosed system can obtain good effluent characteristics while minimizing sludge production and energy consumption. The total phosphorus（TP） is lower than0. 5 mg/L in effluent without any chemical regent added. The discharged dry sludge per 10 000 m^3 wastewater Dwat decreases from 1. 4 to 0. 5 t. For per cubic meter wastewater, the air supply decreases from 6. 0 to 5. 1 m^3 and the electricity consumption decreases from 0. 412- 0. 425 kW·h to 0. 331 kW·h. The addition of Tx-1 can improve the substrate removal constant and decrease the microorganism growth yield coefficient of activated sludge. At the same time,the structure of the microbial community changes and the biodiversity increases by adding Tx-1. The abundance of polyphosphate accumulating organisms（PAO）, Comamonadaceae and Tetrasphaera, increased. Effective microbial agent is a potential way to combine in-situ sludge minimization with contaminants removal.

Can an evidence-based fall prevention program be translated for use in culturally diverse communities?

Older adult falls are a significant public health problem,but one that is amenable to preventive interventions.1,2 Despite the progress made in identifying risk factors,developing efficacious health-related interventions,and promoting evidencebased programs in the community,much work remains before these strategies are broadly available and effectively used to reduce fall-related injuries.3 As Newton and ScottFindlay4 have pointed out,the translation of basic scientific knowledge into clinical studies,and the transformation of clinical studies into improvements in health services and public health practices,remain major obstacles to widespread adoption.

Lignocellulosic fraction-induced niche differentiation within dissimilatory iron reducing bacterial groups in a paddy soil

Responses of soil DIRB to lignocellulosic fractions during a 6-week microcosm incubation were investigated.Anaeromyxobacter,Bacillus,and Clostridium maintained their domi-nance throughout the incubation.Distinct DIRB groups proliferated under specific lignocellulosic fraction amendments.Limits of insufficient ferric iron on the proliferation varied by DIRB group.Dissimilatory iron reducing bacteria(DIRB)are phylogenetically and physi-ologically diverse in paddy soils,where iron reduction closely couples with the oxidation of rice straw-derived carbon in the straw returning scenarios.However,few studies have addressed the niche differentiation within DIRB groups during the degradation of lignocellulosic fractions of rice straw.This study conducted a 6-week microcosm incubation experiment to reveal the distinct responses of DIRB groups under specific lignocellulosic fraction amendments with and without ferrihydrite(Fh)addition in a flooded paddy Ultisol.Results showed that the total absolute abundance of the 19 detected DIRB groups did not vary significantly during the incubation.Anaeromyxobacter,Bacillus,and Clostridium were the dominant DIRB groups for all lignocellulosic treatments whereas Thermincola was dominant but only under xylan amendment with Fh addition.DIRB-nodes in the co-occurrence networks of bacterial community mainly belonged to Anaeromyxobacter and Bacillus.Clostridium and Thermincola,Alkaliphilus and Anaeromyxobacter,and Alicyclobacillus,Desulfobulbus,and Desulfosporosinus were specifically proliferated under xylan,cellulose,and lignin amendments,respectively.Whether the proliferation was limited by insufficient ferric iron varied by bacterial group.These findings suggested the lignocellulosic fraction-induced niche differentiation within DIRB groups,which advanced our understanding of the ecology of DIRB in paddy soils under straw returning.

Effect of lime application on microbial community in acidic tea orchard soils in comparison with those in wasteland and forest soils

Lime application is a conventional technology to control acidification in tea orchard soils. We investigated the effect of lime application on soil microbial community diversity in the soils of three tea orchards, wasteland and forest. The BIOLOG data showed that both the average well color development of all carbon sources and the functional diversity index increased with the liming rate in the tea orchards and the forest, but decreased in the wasteland. The phospholipid fatty acid （PLFA） analysis showed that the structural diversity index of soil microbial community increased with the liming rate in all the tea orchards, the wasteland and the forest. Lime application also increased the soil-bacterial PLFA content in all the soils. Soil fungal and actinomycete PLFAs in the tea orchards showed an increasing trend from 0 to 3.2 g CaCO 3 /kg application and then a decreasing trend from 3.2 to 6.4 g CaCO 3 /kg application. The principal component analysis of BIOLOG and PLFA data suggested that lime application had a significant effect on soil microbial community structure, and land use had a greater effect on soil microbial community structure compared to lime application.

Diversity change of microbial communities responding to zinc and arsenic pollution in a river of northeastern China

Pollution discharge disturbs the natural functions of water systems. The environmental microbial com-munity composition and diversity are sensitive key indicators to the impact of water pol utant on the microbial ecology system over time. It is meaningful to develop a way to identify the microbial diversity related to heavy metal effects in evaluating river pol ution. Water and sediment samples were col ected from eight sections along the Tiaozi River where wastewater and sewage were discharged from Siping City in northeastern China. The main pollutants contents and microbial communities were analyzed. As the primary metal pol utants, zinc （Zn） and arsenic （As） were recorded at the maximum concentrations of 420 and 5.72 μg/L in the water, and 1704 and 1.92 mg/kg in the sediment, re-spectively. These pollutants posed a threat to the microbial community diversity as only a few species of bacteria and eukaryotes with strong resistance were detected through denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE）. Acineto-bacter johnsoni , Clostridium cel ulovorans, and Trichococcus pasteuri were the dominant bacteria in the severely pol uted areas. The massive reproduction of Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri almost depleted the dissolved oxygen （DO） and resulted in the decline of the aerobic bacteria. It was noted that the pollution reduced the microbial diversity but the L. hoffmeisteri mass increased as the dominant community, which led to the overconsuming of DO and anaerobic stinking water bodies. Water quality, concentrations of heavy metals, and the spatial distribution of microbial popula-tions have obvious consistencies, which mean that the heavy metals in the river pose a serious stress on the microorganisms.