Bacterioplankton Community Profiling of the Surface Waters of Kuwait

The marine waters of Kuwait are highly dynamic and strongly influenced by extreme environmental conditions and high levels of anthropogenic activities. This study explored the bacterioplankton community composition and diversity in Kuwait Bay and at four offshore sites close to urbanized coastal are...

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Main Authors: Nasra Ismail, Awatef Almutairi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.838101/full
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author Nasra Ismail
Awatef Almutairi
author_facet Nasra Ismail
Awatef Almutairi
author_sort Nasra Ismail
collection DOAJ
description The marine waters of Kuwait are highly dynamic and strongly influenced by extreme environmental conditions and high levels of anthropogenic activities. This study explored the bacterioplankton community composition and diversity in Kuwait Bay and at four offshore sites close to urbanized coastal areas during two seasons, autumn (October) and spring (April). 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing detected higher bacterial diversity and richness in spring than in autumn. Also, bacterial community beta diversity revealed a significant seasonal partitioning between the two sampling periods but no clear spatial variation could be depicted. Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Flavobacteriia, and Acidimicrobiia dominated the seasonal samples, and SARII clade Ia, SARII clade II, Synechococcus, and SUP05 cluster were among the most abundant taxa in the seasonal samples. However, the strong temporal shift in bacterial community composition was related to Synechococcus abundance. The prevailing physicochemical parameters displayed a significant influence on the bacterioplankton community composition, which was mainly driven by shifts in temperature and nutrient inputs. Furthermore, functional prediction by PICRUSt analysis revealed a relatively stable conserved functional profile in Kuwait’s waters. However, functional genes related to membrane transport were enriched in eutrophic spring waters, while photosynthetic genes were enriched in autumn. Our results provide in-depth insights into the temporal and spatial variations of bacterioplankton dynamics in Kuwait waters and highlight the strong seasonal influence of natural and anthropogenic stressors on their composition and predicted functional capabilities.
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spelling doaj.art-d2d9905aedaa443f8bdc83cd2cde28cf2022-12-22T02:05:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452022-04-01910.3389/fmars.2022.838101838101Bacterioplankton Community Profiling of the Surface Waters of KuwaitNasra IsmailAwatef AlmutairiThe marine waters of Kuwait are highly dynamic and strongly influenced by extreme environmental conditions and high levels of anthropogenic activities. This study explored the bacterioplankton community composition and diversity in Kuwait Bay and at four offshore sites close to urbanized coastal areas during two seasons, autumn (October) and spring (April). 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing detected higher bacterial diversity and richness in spring than in autumn. Also, bacterial community beta diversity revealed a significant seasonal partitioning between the two sampling periods but no clear spatial variation could be depicted. Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Flavobacteriia, and Acidimicrobiia dominated the seasonal samples, and SARII clade Ia, SARII clade II, Synechococcus, and SUP05 cluster were among the most abundant taxa in the seasonal samples. However, the strong temporal shift in bacterial community composition was related to Synechococcus abundance. The prevailing physicochemical parameters displayed a significant influence on the bacterioplankton community composition, which was mainly driven by shifts in temperature and nutrient inputs. Furthermore, functional prediction by PICRUSt analysis revealed a relatively stable conserved functional profile in Kuwait’s waters. However, functional genes related to membrane transport were enriched in eutrophic spring waters, while photosynthetic genes were enriched in autumn. Our results provide in-depth insights into the temporal and spatial variations of bacterioplankton dynamics in Kuwait waters and highlight the strong seasonal influence of natural and anthropogenic stressors on their composition and predicted functional capabilities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.838101/fullKuwait marine systemanthropogenic impactsenvironmental microbiologybacterioplanktonArabian gulf
spellingShingle Nasra Ismail
Awatef Almutairi
Bacterioplankton Community Profiling of the Surface Waters of Kuwait
Frontiers in Marine Science
Kuwait marine system
anthropogenic impacts
environmental microbiology
bacterioplankton
Arabian gulf
title Bacterioplankton Community Profiling of the Surface Waters of Kuwait
title_full Bacterioplankton Community Profiling of the Surface Waters of Kuwait
title_fullStr Bacterioplankton Community Profiling of the Surface Waters of Kuwait
title_full_unstemmed Bacterioplankton Community Profiling of the Surface Waters of Kuwait
title_short Bacterioplankton Community Profiling of the Surface Waters of Kuwait
title_sort bacterioplankton community profiling of the surface waters of kuwait
topic Kuwait marine system
anthropogenic impacts
environmental microbiology
bacterioplankton
Arabian gulf
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.838101/full
work_keys_str_mv AT nasraismail bacterioplanktoncommunityprofilingofthesurfacewatersofkuwait
AT awatefalmutairi bacterioplanktoncommunityprofilingofthesurfacewatersofkuwait