Comparative Study of Microbial Diversity in Different Coastal Aquifers: Determining Factors
Coastal aquifers have been extensively studied from the hydrodynamic and geochemical points of view, but there is still a significant gap in the knowledge of their microbial diversity. The bacterial communities of four coastal aquifers at different depths and salinities were studied in order to infe...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10835/14512 |
| _version_ | 1789406340336058368 |
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| author | Vargas García, María del Carmen Sola Gómez, Fernando Vallejos Izquierdo, Angela |
| author_facet | Vargas García, María del Carmen Sola Gómez, Fernando Vallejos Izquierdo, Angela |
| author_sort | Vargas García, María del Carmen |
| collection | DSpace |
| description | Coastal aquifers have been extensively studied from the hydrodynamic and geochemical points of view, but there is still a significant gap in the knowledge of their microbial diversity. The bacterial communities of four coastal aquifers at different depths and salinities were studied in order to infer the anthropogenic and physico-chemical influences on groundwater microbiota. At the physico-chemical level, samples from different aquifers, but with similar salinities, are more similar than those taken within the same aquifer. The microbial community at the phylum level shows the dominance of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Samples from the same aquifer, although having very different salinities, are more similar than samples with similar physico-chemical characteristics. Therefore, the taxa present in these media are resilient to environmental variations. The aquifer preserving the most pristine conditions harbors the lowest values of biodiversity, compared to those affected by anthropic activities. The incorporation of pollutants into the aquifer favors the development of a so-called “rare biosphere”, consisting of a high number of taxa which represent a low percentage (<1%) of the total microbial community. The analysis of microbial biodiversity in a coastal aquifer could be used as an indicator of the degree of anthropic alteration. |
| format | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| id | oai:repositorio.ual.es:10835-14512 |
| institution | Universidad de Cuenca |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oai:repositorio.ual.es:10835-145122023-04-19T17:51:46Z Comparative Study of Microbial Diversity in Different Coastal Aquifers: Determining Factors Vargas García, María del Carmen Sola Gómez, Fernando Vallejos Izquierdo, Angela coastal aquifer saltwater metagenomics analysis microbiome diversity anthropogenic impact Coastal aquifers have been extensively studied from the hydrodynamic and geochemical points of view, but there is still a significant gap in the knowledge of their microbial diversity. The bacterial communities of four coastal aquifers at different depths and salinities were studied in order to infer the anthropogenic and physico-chemical influences on groundwater microbiota. At the physico-chemical level, samples from different aquifers, but with similar salinities, are more similar than those taken within the same aquifer. The microbial community at the phylum level shows the dominance of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Samples from the same aquifer, although having very different salinities, are more similar than samples with similar physico-chemical characteristics. Therefore, the taxa present in these media are resilient to environmental variations. The aquifer preserving the most pristine conditions harbors the lowest values of biodiversity, compared to those affected by anthropic activities. The incorporation of pollutants into the aquifer favors the development of a so-called “rare biosphere”, consisting of a high number of taxa which represent a low percentage (<1%) of the total microbial community. The analysis of microbial biodiversity in a coastal aquifer could be used as an indicator of the degree of anthropic alteration. 2023-04-19T17:51:46Z 2023-04-19T17:51:46Z 2023-03-28 info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2073-4441 http://hdl.handle.net/10835/14512 10.3390/w15071337 en https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/7/1337 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess MDPI |
| spellingShingle | coastal aquifer saltwater metagenomics analysis microbiome diversity anthropogenic impact Vargas García, María del Carmen Sola Gómez, Fernando Vallejos Izquierdo, Angela Comparative Study of Microbial Diversity in Different Coastal Aquifers: Determining Factors |
| title | Comparative Study of Microbial Diversity in Different Coastal Aquifers: Determining Factors |
| title_full | Comparative Study of Microbial Diversity in Different Coastal Aquifers: Determining Factors |
| title_fullStr | Comparative Study of Microbial Diversity in Different Coastal Aquifers: Determining Factors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative Study of Microbial Diversity in Different Coastal Aquifers: Determining Factors |
| title_short | Comparative Study of Microbial Diversity in Different Coastal Aquifers: Determining Factors |
| title_sort | comparative study of microbial diversity in different coastal aquifers: determining factors |
| topic | coastal aquifer saltwater metagenomics analysis microbiome diversity anthropogenic impact |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10835/14512 |
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