Abstract
BackgroundStudies of the microbiomes on surfaces in built environment have largely focused on indoor spaces, while outdoor spaces have received far less attention. Piers are engineered infrastructures commonly found in coastal areas, and due to their unique locations at the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, pier surfaces are likely to harbor interesting microbiology. In this study, the microbiomes on the metal and concrete surfaces at nine piers located along the coastline of Hong Kong were investigated by metagenomic sequencing. The roles played by different physical attributes and environmental factors in shaping the taxonomic composition and functional traits of the pier surface microbiomes were determined. Metagenome-assembled genomes were reconstructed and their putative biosynthetic gene clusters were characterized in detail.ResultsSurface material was found to be the strongest factor in structuring the taxonomic and functional compositions of the pier surface microbiomes. Corrosion-related bacteria were significantly enriched on metal surfaces, consistent with the pitting corrosion observed. The differential enrichment of taxa mediating biodegradation suggests differences between the metal and concrete surfaces in terms of specific xenobiotics being potentially degraded. Genome-centric analysis detected the presence of many novel species, with the majority of them belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria. Genomic characterization showed that the potential metabolic functions and secondary biosynthetic capacity were largely correlated with taxonomy, rather than surface attributes and geography.ConclusionsPier surfaces are a rich reservoir of abundant novel bacterial species. Members of the surface microbial communities use different mechanisms to counter the stresses under oligotrophic conditions. A better understanding of the outdoor surface microbiomes located in different environments should enhance the ability to maintain outdoor surfaces of infrastructures.Aqu7jA9CrPbjVmub3JrQBiVideo
Highlights
Microorganisms are ubiquitous in both the natural and engineered environments
Taxonomic overview of pier surface microbiomes Of the 175 outdoor pier surface samples analyzed, 99.5% of the reads on average were annotated as bacteria, 0.34% as viruses, and 0.17% as archaea
The pier surface microbiomes were dominated by Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria (Fig. 1a)
Summary
Microorganisms are ubiquitous in both the natural and engineered environments. Due to strong dispersal and adaptive capacities, some microbial taxa are widely distributed in diverse ecosystems [1]. Recent studies [2, 3] have shown that the indoor and outdoor surfaces of the built environment are reservoirs of microbial assemblages from multiple sources such as humans and nearby. In an occupied indoor space, different surface types harbor distinct microbial communities [11], which is largely due to contact by occupants and the subsequent transfer of microbes [12]. Studies of the microbiomes on surfaces in built environment have largely focused on indoor spaces, while outdoor spaces have received far less attention. The microbiomes on the metal and concrete surfaces at nine piers located along the coastline of Hong Kong were investigated by metagenomic sequencing. The roles played by different physical attributes and environmental factors in shaping the taxonomic composition and functional traits of the pier surface microbiomes were determined. Metagenome-assembled genomes were reconstructed and their putative biosynthetic gene clusters were characterized in detail
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