Characterization of the bacterial population and chemistry in the bottom sediment of a laterally subdivided drinking water reservoir system

Abstract

Sediments in standing waters are complex habitats that are able to provide favorable living conditions for manifold microbial species. The aim of this study was to investigate the spatial and seasonal composition of bacteria in freshwater sediments and the chemical conditions. Four sampling points were investigated at monthly intervals along the flow of water from a pre-reservoir down to the main dam of the Saidenbach reservoir, a drinking water reservoir located in Saxony, Germany. Selected chemical criteria of the sediments were analyzed, as well as the physical conditions of the water body at the chosen sites. Redox-sensitive chemical criteria, such as nitrogen, sulfur, iron and manganese compounds displayed very steep vertical gradients within the sediment. Phylogenetic composition of the communities was investigated utilizing clone libraries and catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH). Up to 90% of the cells that were stained with propidium iodide hybridized with probes for Bacteria and Archaea. This amount decreased with sediment depth. The predominant bacterial groups found in the sediment were a-Proteobacteria, especially at the sampling point with a high content of planktogenic organic material closest to the main dam, as well as b-Proteobacteria and the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster. Clone libraries allowed a more detailed view of the microbial diversity within the detected phylogenetic groups. Despite an observed variation of a-Proteobacteria and bacteria belonging to the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster, a regression analysis showed very weak multiple correlation coefficients between chemical criteria and the analyzed broad phylogenetic bacterial groups.

Effects of Seasonal Thermal Stratification on the Functional Diversity and Composition of the Microbial Community in a Drinking Water Reservoir

“…It is suggested that the microbial populations in the hypolimnion could be enhanced by various factors, such as extracellular enzymes of anaerobic metabolism [47,48], the biomass and organic matters exported from the upper waters, the complex interaction with the massive microorganisms in the sediment [10], and the release of nutrients from the sediment [9,49]. Although we did not measure changes in organic matter directly in the water bodies, we cannot exclude the possibility that the contaminants in the deeper layer can be metabolized in various ways due to the differences detected in the utilization of 31 different kinds of carbon sources by using the Biolog method.…”

“…Numerous studies have been performed to determine the microbial composition of aquatic habitats, using molecular methods such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) [9], catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH) [10], clone library analysis [11], and 454-pyrosequencing [12,13]. The Biolog EcoPlate™ has also been developed to study heterotrophic microbial communities based on carbon-source utilization as a more simple and rapid method, and has been widely used in various environments, including soil, sediments and activated sludge [14][15][16].…”

Ignored sediment fungal populations in water supply reservoirs are revealed by quantitative PCR and 454 pyrosequencing

“…Röske et al [4,5] used CARD-FISH and 454 GS FLX pyrosequencing to investigate sediment bacterial and archaeal communities from a mesotrophic drinking water reservoir located in Saxony, Germany. Recently, Huerta et al [14] also determined the sediment bacterial communities in three water supply reservoirs located near Barcelona, Spain using Roche 454 GS FLX pyrosequencing.…”

Abundance and diversity of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the sediment of the Zhou Cun drinking water reservoir in Eastern China

“…Acid-volatile sulfide (AVS) was extracted by exposure the wet samples to concentrated hydrochloric acid by using steam distillation and was trapped in a solution of sodium hydroxide and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The trapped sulfides were measured using a DR 5000 spectrophotometer (Hach Co.) (Röske et al, 2008;Kondo et al, 2012). The sulfate concentrations of the samples were measured by ion chromatography (Metrohm AG, Herisau, Switzerland).…”