Microbial Community Changes across Time and Space in a Constructed Wetland

Baddar, Zeinah Elhaj; Bier, Raven; Spencer, Breann; Xu, Xiaoyu

doi:10.1021/acsenvironau.4c00021

Microbial Community Changes across Time and Space in a Constructed Wetland

Journal Article · Fri Jul 26 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · ACS Environmental Au

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenvironau.4c00021· OSTI ID:2478189

^[1]; Bier, Raven ^[1]; Spencer, Breann ^[1]; ^[2]

University of Georgia, Aiken, SC (United States)
University of Georgia, Aiken, SC (United States); University of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

Constructed wetlands are artificial ecosystems designed to replicate natural wetland processes. Microbial communities play a pivotal role in cycling essential elements, particularly sulfur, which is crucial for trace metal fixation and remobilization in these ecosystems. By their response to their environment, microbial communities act as biological indicators of the wetland performance. To address knowledge gaps pertinent to the changes in trace metal bioavailability in relation to microbial activities in the H-02 constructed wetland, we performed this study to investigate temporal and spatial variations in microbial communities by using molecular biology tools. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and next generation sequencing techniques were employed to analyze archaeal and bacterial groups associated with sulfur and methane cycling. Alpha diversity indices were used to assess species richness, evenness, and dominance. Results indicated high gene abundance of Desulfuromonas (5.37 × 10⁶ g.cell^–1), methane oxidizing bacteria (6.92 × 10⁶ g.cell^–1), and methanogenic microorganisms (3.02 × 10⁵ g.cell^–1) during cool months. Warm months were marked by sulfate reducing bacteria dominance (3.31 × 10⁶ g.cell^–1), potentially due to competitive interactions and environmental conditions, higher temperatures, and lower redox potential. Spatial variability among microbial groups was insignificant, but trends in gene abundance indicated complex factors influencing these groups. Next generation sequencing data demonstrated Firmicutes as the most abundant phylum with over 50% regardless of the season or sampling location. Cool months exhibited higher alpha diversity than warm months. Overall, this study showed that seasonal changes significantly impacted the microbial communities in the H-02 constructed wetland that are associated with the sulfur cycle and eventually trace metal biogeochemistry, revealing two distinct mechanisms of the sulfur cycle between the two main seasons, whereas spatial variability effects were not conclusive.

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Research Organization:: University of Georgia, Aiken, SC (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: EM0004391

OSTI ID:: 2478189

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2478064

Journal Information:: ACS Environmental Au, Journal Name: ACS Environmental Au Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 4; ISSN 2694-2518

Publisher:: ACS PublicationsCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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