Long-term warming modulates diversity, vertical structuring of microbial communities, and sulfate reduction in coastal Baltic Sea sediments
Coastal waters such as those found in the Baltic Sea already suffer from anthropogenic related problems including increased algal blooming and hypoxia while ongoing and future climate change will likely worsen these effects. Microbial communities in sediments play a crucial role in the marine energy...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1099445/full |
| _version_ | 1827977374133649408 |
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| author | Laura Seidel Varvara Sachpazidou Marcelo Ketzer Samuel Hylander Anders Forsman Mark Dopson |
| author_facet | Laura Seidel Varvara Sachpazidou Marcelo Ketzer Samuel Hylander Anders Forsman Mark Dopson |
| author_sort | Laura Seidel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coastal waters such as those found in the Baltic Sea already suffer from anthropogenic related problems including increased algal blooming and hypoxia while ongoing and future climate change will likely worsen these effects. Microbial communities in sediments play a crucial role in the marine energy- and nutrient cycling, and how they are affected by climate change and shape the environment in the future is of great interest. The aims of this study were to investigate potential effects of prolonged warming on microbial community composition and nutrient cycling including sulfate reduction in surface (∼0.5 cm) to deeper sediments (∼ 24 cm). To investigate this, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed, and sulfate concentrations were measured and compared between sediments in a heated bay (which has been used as a cooling water outlet from a nearby nuclear power plant for approximately 50 years) and a nearby but unaffected control bay. The results showed variation in overall microbial diversity according to sediment depth and higher sulfate flux in the heated bay compared to the control bay. A difference in vertical community structure reflected increased relative abundances of sulfur oxidizing- and sulfate reducing bacteria along with a higher proportion of archaea, such as Bathyarchaeota, in the heated compared to the control bay. This was particularly evident closer to the sediment surface, indicating a compression of geochemical zones in the heated bay. These results corroborate findings in previous studies and additionally point to an amplified effect of prolonged warming deeper in the sediment, which could result in elevated concentrations of toxic compounds and greenhouse gases closer to the sediment surface. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:04:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59873bf9d5b8448690f9f5479b936ade |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:04:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-59873bf9d5b8448690f9f5479b936ade2023-03-29T04:35:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2023-03-011410.3389/fmicb.2023.10994451099445Long-term warming modulates diversity, vertical structuring of microbial communities, and sulfate reduction in coastal Baltic Sea sedimentsLaura SeidelVarvara SachpazidouMarcelo KetzerSamuel HylanderAnders ForsmanMark DopsonCoastal waters such as those found in the Baltic Sea already suffer from anthropogenic related problems including increased algal blooming and hypoxia while ongoing and future climate change will likely worsen these effects. Microbial communities in sediments play a crucial role in the marine energy- and nutrient cycling, and how they are affected by climate change and shape the environment in the future is of great interest. The aims of this study were to investigate potential effects of prolonged warming on microbial community composition and nutrient cycling including sulfate reduction in surface (∼0.5 cm) to deeper sediments (∼ 24 cm). To investigate this, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed, and sulfate concentrations were measured and compared between sediments in a heated bay (which has been used as a cooling water outlet from a nearby nuclear power plant for approximately 50 years) and a nearby but unaffected control bay. The results showed variation in overall microbial diversity according to sediment depth and higher sulfate flux in the heated bay compared to the control bay. A difference in vertical community structure reflected increased relative abundances of sulfur oxidizing- and sulfate reducing bacteria along with a higher proportion of archaea, such as Bathyarchaeota, in the heated compared to the control bay. This was particularly evident closer to the sediment surface, indicating a compression of geochemical zones in the heated bay. These results corroborate findings in previous studies and additionally point to an amplified effect of prolonged warming deeper in the sediment, which could result in elevated concentrations of toxic compounds and greenhouse gases closer to the sediment surface.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1099445/fullclimate changesediments16S rRNA gene amplicondepth profilemicrobial communities |
| spellingShingle | Laura Seidel Varvara Sachpazidou Marcelo Ketzer Samuel Hylander Anders Forsman Mark Dopson Long-term warming modulates diversity, vertical structuring of microbial communities, and sulfate reduction in coastal Baltic Sea sediments Frontiers in Microbiology climate change sediments 16S rRNA gene amplicon depth profile microbial communities |
| title | Long-term warming modulates diversity, vertical structuring of microbial communities, and sulfate reduction in coastal Baltic Sea sediments |
| title_full | Long-term warming modulates diversity, vertical structuring of microbial communities, and sulfate reduction in coastal Baltic Sea sediments |
| title_fullStr | Long-term warming modulates diversity, vertical structuring of microbial communities, and sulfate reduction in coastal Baltic Sea sediments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-term warming modulates diversity, vertical structuring of microbial communities, and sulfate reduction in coastal Baltic Sea sediments |
| title_short | Long-term warming modulates diversity, vertical structuring of microbial communities, and sulfate reduction in coastal Baltic Sea sediments |
| title_sort | long term warming modulates diversity vertical structuring of microbial communities and sulfate reduction in coastal baltic sea sediments |
| topic | climate change sediments 16S rRNA gene amplicon depth profile microbial communities |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1099445/full |
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