Community dynamics of free-living and particle-attached bacteria following a reservoir Microcystis bloom

Abstract

The composition of microbial communities can vary at the microspatial scale between free-living (FL) and particle-attached (PA) niches. However, it remains unclear how FL and PA bacterial communities respond to cyanobacterial blooms across water depths. Here, we examined the community dynamics of the FL (0.2–3 μm) and PA (>3 μm) bacterioplankton based on 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing in a subtropical stratified reservoir under Microcystis aeruginosa bloom and non-bloom conditions. Both FL and PA bacterioplankton communities showed different responses in alpha- and beta-diversities to the bloom, suggesting the idea that the responses of bacterial community could depend on lifestyle. Specifically, abundant PA subcommunities showed a greater variation between bloom and non-bloom groups than abundant FL ones. In contrast, rare FL subcommunities exhibited a stronger response to water depth than rare PA ones. Furthermore, the rare taxa exhibited a preference for PA status, shaped and stimulated by the M. aeruginosa bloom. Our analyses also showed that PA bacterial communities were generally more diverse and appeared to be more responsive to routinely measured environmental variables than FL bacteria. Microcystis blooms had a facilitative influence on specific bacteria by mediating the transitions from free-living to particle-attached lifestyles. Altogether, these findings highlight the importance of bacterial lifestyle and abundance in understanding the dynamics of microbial community in cyanobacterial bloom aquatic ecosystem.