Using Bioinformatics to Quantify the Variability and Diversity of the Microbial Community Structure in Pond Ecosystems of a Subtropical Catchment | Bentham Science

摘要

Background: In rural China, many natural water bodies and farmlands have beenconverted into fish farming ponds as an economic developmental strategy. There is still a limitedunderstanding of how the diversity and structure of microbial communities change in nature andbecome managed fish pond ecosystems.Objective: We aimed to identify the changes of the diversity and structure of microbial communityand driving mechanism in pond ecosystems.Methods: The datasets of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and the concentrations of N and Pfractions were achieved in water samples of pond ecosystems. Bioinformatics analysis was used toanalyze the diversity and structure of the microbial communities.Results: Our results indicated that the diversity and structure of the microbial communities in thenatural ponds were significantly different from ones in managed fish ponds. The nutrients of N andP and water environmental factors were responsible for 46.3% and 19.5% of the changes in thestructure and diversity of the microbial community, respectively.Conclusion: The N and P fractions and water environmental factors influenced the microbialcommunity structure and diversity in pond ecosystems. Fish farming indirectly affected themicrobial community by altering the contents of N and P fractions in water bodies of ponds, whena natural pond was converted into a managed fish pond.