Abstract
The coastal ecosystems are considered as one of the most dynamic and vulnerable environments under various anthropogenic developments and the effects of climate change. Variations in the composition and diversity of microbial communities may be a good indicator for determining whether the marine ecosystems are affected by complex forcing stressors. DNA sequence-based metagenomics has recently emerged as a promising tool for analyzing the structure and diversity of microbial communities based on environmental DNA (eDNA). However, few studies have so far been performed using this approach to assess the impacts of human activities on the microbial communities in marine systems. In this study, using metagenomic DNA sequencing (16S ribosomal RNA gene), we analyzed and compared seawater and sediment communities between sand mining and control (natural) sites in southern coastal waters of Korea to assess whether anthropogenic activities have significantly affected the microbial communities. The sand mining sites harbored considerably lower levels of microbial diversities in the surface seawater community during spring compared with control sites. Moreover, the sand mining areas had distinct microbial taxonomic group compositions, particularly during spring season. The microbial groups detected solely in the sediment load/dredging areas (e.g., Marinobacter, Alcanivorax, Novosphingobium) are known to be involved in degradation of toxic chemicals such as hydrocarbon, oil, and aromatic compounds, and they also contain potential pathogens. This study highlights the versatility of metagenomics in monitoring and diagnosing the impacts of human disturbance on the environmental health of marine ecosystems from eDNA.
Highlights
The marine ecosystem is the largest, most diverse, complex, and influential for all life on Earth, including humans
Another independent t-test was conducted to determine whether there was a difference in the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) between the spring (n = 6) and autumn (n = 6) samples
The OTU number and the diversity of microorganisms found in the sediment community from community, irrespective of the sampling date and water depth (Mann-Whitney U = 0.00, p = 0.004)
Summary
The marine ecosystem is the largest, most diverse, complex, and influential for all life on Earth, including humans It plays a fundamental role in the functioning of the global ecosystem and services such as providing the balance of global water and geochemical cycles, the buffering of global climate change, and the fisheries production for human society [1,2]. The global ocean health has been under severe threat, recently, predominantly due to anthropogenic pressure [3,4]. Various alarming signals such as decreasing fisheries production, oxygen depletion, and acidification. Public Health 2017, 14, 130; doi:10.3390/ijerph14020130 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.