Microbial one‑carbon and nitrogen metabolisms are beneficial to the reservoir recovery after cyanobacterial bloom

Abstract

Cyanobacterial blooms have profound effects on the structure and function of plankton communities in inland waters, but few studies have focused on the effects of microbial-based processes in one‑carbon and nitrogen cycling on water quality improvement following the bloom. Here, we compared the structure and function of the bacterial community, focusing on microbial one‑carbon and nitrogen metabolisms during and after a cyanobacterial Microcystis bloom in a deep subtropical reservoir. Our data showed that microbial one‑carbon and nitrogen cycles were closely related to different periods of the bloom, and the changes of functional genes in microbial carbon and nitrogen cycling showed the same consistent trend as that of Methylomonas sp. With the receding of the bloom, the abundance of Methylomonas as well as the functional genes of microbial one‑carbon and nitrogen cycling reached the peak and then recovered. Our results indicate that microbial one‑carbon and nitrogen metabolisms were beneficial to the recovery of water quality from the cyanobacterial bloom. This study lays a foundation for a deep understanding of the cyanobacterial decomposition mediated by microbes in one‑carbon and nitrogen cycles in inland freshwaters.