Microbial community structure is affected by both natural processes and human activities. In coastal area, anthropegenetic activity can usually lead to the discharge of the effluent from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to sea, and thus the water quality chronically turns worse and marine ecosystem becomes unhealthy. Microorganisms play key roles in pollutants degradation and ecological restoration; however, there are few studies about how the WWTP effluent disposal influences coastal microbial communities. In this study, sediment samples were collected from two WWTP effluent-receiving areas (abbreviated as JX and SY) in Hangzhou Bay. First, based on the high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene, microbial community structure was analyzed. Secondly, several statistical analyses were conducted to reveal the microbial community characteristics in response to the effluent disposal. Using PCoA, the significant difference of in microbial community structure was determined between JX and SY; using RDA, water COD and temperature, and sediment available phosphate and ammonia nitrogen were identified as the key environmental factors for the community difference; using LDA effect size analysis, the most distinctive microbes were found and their correlations with environmental factors were investigated; and according to detrended beta-nearest-taxon-index, the sediment microbial communities were found to follow “niche theory”. An interesting and important finding was that in SY that received more and toxic COD, many distinctive microbes were related to the groups that were capable of degrading toxic organic pollutants. This study provides a clear illustration of eco-environmental deterioration under the long-term human pressure from the view of microbial ecology.

Current technologies could identify the abundance and functions of specific microbes, and evaluate their individual effects on microbial ecology. However, these microbes interact with each other, as well as environmental factors, in the form of complex network. Determination of their combined ecological influences remains a challenge. In this study, we developed a tripartite microbial-environment network (TMEN) analysis method that integrates microbial abundance, metabolic function, and environmental data as a tripartite network to investigate the combined ecological effects of microbes. Applying TMEN to analyzing the microbial-environment community structure in the sediments of Hangzhou Bay, one of the most seriously polluted coastal areas in China, we found that microbes were well-organized into 4 bacterial communities and 9 archaeal communities. The total organic carbon, sulfate, chemical oxygen demand, salinity, and nitrogen-related indexes were detected as crucial environmental factors in the microbial-environmental network. With close interactions with these environmental factors, Nitrospirales and Methanimicrococcu were identified as hub microbes with connection advantage. Our TMEN method could close the gap between lack of efficient statistical and computational approaches and the booming of large-scale microbial genomic and environmental data. Based on TMEN, we discovered a potential microbial ecological mechanism that crucial species with significant influence on the microbial community ecology would possess one or two of the community advantages for enhancing their ecological status and essentiality, including abundance advantage and connection advantage.

Coastal estuaries and bays are exposed to both natural and anthropogenic environmental changes, inflicting intensive stress on the microbial communities inhabiting these areas. However, it remains unclear how microbial community diversity and their eco-functions are affected by anthropogenic disturbances rather than natural environmental changes. Here, we explored sediment microbial functional genes dynamics and community interaction networks in Hangzhou Bay (HZB), one of the most severely polluted bays on China’s eastern coast. The results indicated key microbial functional gene categories, including N, P, S, and aromatic compound metabolism, and stress response, displayed significant spatial dynamics along environmental gradients. Sensitive feedbacks of key functional gene categories to N and P pollutants demonstrated potential impacts of human-induced seawater pollutants to microbial functional capacity. Seawater ammonia and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) was identified as primary drivers in selecting adaptive populations and varying community composition. Network analysis revealed distinct modules that were stimulated in inner or outer bay. Importantly, the network keystone species, which played a fundamental role in community interactions, were strongly affected by N-pollutants. Our results provide a systematic understanding of the microbial compositional and functional dynamics in an urbanized coastal estuary, and highlighted the impact of human activities on these communities.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are regarded as emerging contaminants related with human activities. Aquatic environments of an urban city are apt for the persistence and prevalence of ARGs. In this study, we investigated the occurrence and distribution of ARGs and integrase genes in the sediment samples collected from drinking water sources, urban rivers, and coastal areas of Zhuhai, China, in the dry and wet seasons of 2016. The results show that sulfonamide resistance gene of sulII was present at the highest detection frequency (85.71%); and its average concentrations were also the highest in both dry and wet seasons (3.78×107 and 9.04×107 copies/g sediment, respectively), followed by tetC, tetO, tetA, ermB, dfrA1, and blaPSE-1. Temporally, the concentrations of total ARGs in the wet season were likely higher than those in the dry season; and spatially, the concentrations of total ARGs in the drinking water sources were substantially lower than those in the urban rivers and nearby coastal areas, indicating the different degrees of anthropogenic impact and consequent health risks. Positive correlations were found between intI1 and each quantitative ARG in all wet season samples rather than dry season samples, which suggested higher temperature and more rain in summer might have positive influences on ARG dissemination, especially that mediated by intI1 gene and class I integrons.

Coastal ecosystem structures and functions are changing under natural and anthropogenic influences. In this study, surface sediment samples were collected from disturbed zone (DZ), near estuary zone (NEZ), and far estuary zone (FEZ) of Hangzhou Bay, one of the most seriously polluted bays in China. The bacterial community structures and predicted functions varied significantly in different zones. Firmicutes were found most abundantly in DZ, highlighting the impacts of anthropogenic activities. Sediment total phosphorus was most influential on the bacterial community structures. Predicted by PICRUSt analysis, DZ significantly exceeded FEZ and NEZ in the subcategory of Xenobiotics Biodegradation and Metabolism; and DZ enriched all the nitrate reduction related genes, except nrfA gene. Seawater salinity and inorganic nitrogen, respectively as the representative natural and anthropogenic factor, performed exact-oppositely in nitrogen metabolism functions. The changes of bacterial community compositions and predicted functions provide a new insight into human-induced pollution impacts on coastal ecosystem.

废水处理系统被认为是水环境中抗生素抗性基因(ARGs)的重要污染源.为探究ARGs在废水处理系统中的分布特征和去除情况,选取某精细化工园区内的制药废水处理系统和园区综合性废水处理系统,使用PCR和实时荧光定量PCR对不同处理单元中ARGs的存在情况和丰度变化进行研究.在两个系统进水中分别检出了10种和15种ARGs,其中以四环素类和磺胺类ARGs居多,并首次检出了dfrA13基因.进水中sulⅠ和sulⅡ基因的丰度最高,随后依次是dfrA13、tetQ、floR、tetO和tetW基因.制药废水处理系统使总ARGs浓度上升了0.21个数量级,出水汇入园区综合性废水处理系统再次处理,其对综合性废水处理系统进水中总ARGs的贡献率为5.05%.综合性废水处理系统使总ARGs浓度下降了1.03个数量级,残留ARGs同最终出水一起直接排海,对近海环境中微生物群落的潜在影响有待深入研究.

生物膜是微生物细胞粘附于材料表面的群体性生长方式。在实践应用中,有目的地调控微生物在材料表面的成膜进程具有重要意义。本文概述了生物膜在材料表面的形成机制及其影响因素,综述了材料表面的电荷特征、亲疏水性、形貌模式和功能性化学修饰等物化特性对细胞粘附和生物膜形成的影响,并介绍了目前在不同实际应用场景中抑制成膜和促进成膜材料的研发现状。

 抗生素抗性基因(Antibiotic resistance genes，ARGs)作为一种新型污染物在不同环境中广泛分布、来源复杂，对生态环境和人类健康造成了很大的潜在风险。同时，I型整合子(Int I)介导的ARGs水平转移是环境中微生物产生耐药性的重要途径，I型整合子整合酶基因(intI1)与ARGs丰度在环境中表现出了较高的正相关性，Int I可以作为标记物在一定程度上反映ARGs在环境中的迁移转化规律和人类活动影响程度。本文介绍ARGs与Int I在环境中的来源与分布，总结Int I介导的ARGs迁移转化机制以及相关研究方法，并展望未来的研究发展趋势。

以杭州市萧山区2008—2014年饮用水源地铁含量监测数据为分析对象,研究饮用水源地的铁含量时空分布并评价铁污染状况,结果表明,铁含量单次测值历年超标,超标倍数0.01~8.80,超标率16.7%~86.1%,7年间超标率呈现阶段性的螺旋式上升,铁污染日趋严重,到2014年有所减轻。通过对饮用水源地周边环境和污染源调查,结合文献资料,分析铁污染成因,提出防治对策:制定地表水体中铁的分类标准,完善废水的铁排放标准;建立跨行政区域的水环境管理机制,全面实施河长制;加强水土保持和酸雨控制,进行河流综合整治;加强饮用水源管理,扩建备用水源和另找水源。

Cell-associated ARGs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been concerned, however, cell-free ARGs in WWTPs was rarely studied. In this study, the abundances of four representative ARGs, sulII, tetC, blaPSE‑1,and ermB, in a large municipal WWTP were investigated in both cell-associated and cell-free fractions. Cell-associated ARGs was the dominant ARGs fraction in the raw wastewater. After biological treatment, sludge settling, membrane filtration, and disinfection, cell-associated ARGs were substantially reduced, though the ratios of ARG/16S rRNA gene were increased with disinfection. Cell-free ARGs persisted in the WWTP with a removal of 0.36 log to 2.68 logs, which was much lower than the removal of cell-associated ARGs (3.21 logs to 4.14 logs). Therefore, the abundance ratio of cell-free ARGs to cell-associated ARGs increased from 0.04−1.59% to 2.00−1895.08% along the treatment processes. After 25-day-storage, cell-free ARGs in both biological effluent and disinfection effluent increased by 0.14 log to 1.99 logs and 0.12 log to 1.77 logs respectively, reflecting the persistence and low decay rate of cell-free ARGs in the discharge water. Therefore, cell-free ARGs might be a kind of important but previously neglected pollutant from WWTPs, which added potential risks to the effluent receiving environments.

为探究污水处理系统中抗生素抗性基因(ARGs)、特别是胞外游离态ARGs的赋存特征,本研究选取生活污水处理系统和工业废水处理系统各一座,采用荧光定量PCR对细胞态及游离态ARGs丰度变化开展研究.在生活污水处理系统M中,进水sulⅡ、tet C、bla PSE-1和erm B这4种ARGs细胞态的绝对丰度均大幅高于游离态的绝对丰度,生物处理未对抗生素抗性菌(ARBs)产生富集效应;MBR的超滤膜有效削减了水中细胞态和游离态DNA,最终ARGs的总去除率为2.54~4.95 logs.在焦化废水处理系统C中,生物处理对携带sulⅡ的ARBs产生了富集效应,但游离态sulⅡ的相对丰度和绝对丰度均有所降低;其后混凝-砂滤工艺使水中细胞态和游离态sulⅡ的绝对丰度分别出现了下降和上升,游离态sulⅡ在总sulⅡ中的比例从生物处理出水中的0.05%,上升到混凝-砂滤出水中的1.33%,并在25℃恒温避光静置5d后进一步上升至9.31%.ARBs深度去除及残留细胞裂解,使污水处理系统出水中游离ARGs在总ARGs中的比例有所上升.游离态ARGs介导ARGs在污水处理系统出水受纳环境中的传播扩散风险有待后续研究进行深入评估.

通过测定不同季节北京大学未名湖不同区域的水质指标,发现在无显著人为外源影响的条件下,水体氮相关指标较好,四季全部采样点的氨氮都优于Ⅱ类水指标,总氮都优于Ⅳ类水指标,但COD,TP和DO等指标在有的采样点仅达到、甚至劣于Ⅴ类。未名湖的平均综合营养状态指数(TLI)为56.1,属于轻度富营养化。利用PCR-DGGE分析未名湖的底泥微生物群落,结果表明其多样性随季节变化较明显,春、秋季多样性指数都较高,夏、秋季多样性指数与地理位置及水体营养盐含量呈显著正相关关系。线性回归结果提示未名湖底泥微生物群落可能受藻类固氮作用的影响。

焦化废水是一种典型的难降解工业废水,组分复杂,生物毒性高,大多采用生物处理联合物化深度处理的工艺,以满足炼焦化学工业的污染排放标准,但其排水安全性仍然令人担忧。为研究工艺排水安全性,选择发光细菌青海弧菌Q67、稀有鮈鲫(Gobiocypris rasus)血红细胞、活性污泥微生物群落为测试生物,研究了焦化废水及各处理阶段出水的急性毒性和遗传毒性变化,进而识别影响生物毒性的水质因子。焦化废水经过序批式生物膜反应器处理后,出水急性毒性比进水下降71%,遗传毒性下降为90%以上的轻度以下损伤,显示生物强化处理对焦化废水生物毒性有良好的去除作用。生物处理出水再经过深度处理后,则表现出不同的毒性变化:活性炭吸附法对生物急性毒性的消除最佳,但遗传毒性较生物处理出水有所升高;臭氧氧化法不仅水质改善效率差,且最终出水的生物急性毒性与遗传毒性均升高;臭氧催化氧化法对水中残留有机物去除效率较高,但也造成出水急性毒性与遗传毒性的升高。各水样对青海弧菌Q67的急性毒性与有机物、氮等水质指标表现出较强相关性,而遗传毒性与水质指标之间的相关性不显著。研究结果可为评价和改进处理工艺、保障水体生态安全提供参考。

Coastal areas are land–sea transitional zones with complex natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Microorganisms in coastal sediments adapt to such disturbances both individually and as a community. The microbial community structure changes spatially and temporally under environmental stress. In this study, we investigated the microbial community structure in the sediments of Hangzhou Bay, a seriously polluted bay in China. In order to identify the roles and contribution of all microbial taxa, we set thresholds as 0.1% for rare taxa and 1% for abundant taxa, and classified all operational taxonomic units into six exclusive categories based on their abundance. The results showed that the key taxa in differentiating the communities are abundant taxa (AT), conditionally abundant taxa (CAT), and conditionally rare or abundant taxa (CRAT). A large population in conditionally rare taxa (CRT) made this category collectively significant in differentiating the communities. Both bacteria and archaea demonstrated a distance decay pattern of community similarity in the bay, and this pattern was strengthened by rare taxa, CRT and CRAT, but weakened by AT and CAT. This implied that the low abundance taxa were more deterministically distributed, while the high abundance taxa were more ubiquitously distributed.

D-Tyrosine inhibits formation and triggers disassembly of bacterial biofilm and has been proposed for biofouling control applications. This study probes the impact of D-tyrosine in different biofilm formation stages in both G+ and G- bacteria, and reveals a non-monotonic correlation between D-tyrosine concentration and biofilm inhibition effect. In the attachment stage, cell adhesion was studied in a flow chamber, where D-tyrosine caused significant reduction in cell attachment. Biofilms formed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis were characterized by confocal laser scanning microscopy as well as quantitative analysis of cellular biomass and extracellular polymeric substances. D-Tyrosine exhibited strong inhibitive effects on both biofilms with  an effective concentration as low as 5 nM; the biofilms responded to D-tyrosine concentration change in a non-monotonic, bi-modal pattern. In addition, D-tyrosine showed notable and different impact on EPS production by G+ and G- bacteria. Extracellular protein was decreased in P. aeruginosa biofilms, but increased in those of B. subtilis. Exopolysaccharides production by P. aeruginosa was increased at low concentrations and reduced at high concentrations while no impact was found in B. subtilis. These results suggest that distinct mechanisms are at play at different D-tyrosine concentrations and they may be species specific. Dosage of D-tyrosine must be carefully controlled for biofouling control applications.

The community structure of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms is sensitive to various environmental factors, including pollutions. In this study, real-time PCR and 454 pyrosequencing were adopted to investigate the population and diversity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) temporally and spatially in the sediments of an industrial effluent receiving area in the Qiantang River’s estuary, Hangzhou Bay. The abundances of AOA and AOB amoA genes fluctuated in 105–107 gene copies per gram of sediment; the ratio of AOA amoA/AOB amoA ranged in 0.39–5.52. The AOA amoA/archaeal 16S rRNA, AOB amoA/bacterial 16S rRNA, and AOA amoA/AOB amoA were found to positively correlate with NH4+-N concentration of the seawater. Nitrosopumilus cluster and Nitrosomonas-like cluster were the dominant AOA and AOB, respectively. The community structures of both AOA and AOB in the sediments exhibited significant seasonal differences rather than spatial changes in the effluent receiving area. The phylogenetic distribution of AOB in this area was consistent with the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) discharging the effluent but differed from the Qiantang River and other estuaries, which might be an outcome of long-term effluent discharge.

Anthropogenic activities usually contaminate water environments, and have led to the eutrophication of many estuaries and shifts in microbial communities. In this study, the temporal and spatial changes of the microbial community in an industrial effluent receiving area in Hangzhou Bay were investigated by 454 pyrosequencing. The bacterial community showed higher richness and biodiversity than the archaeal community in all sediments. Proteobacteria dominated in the bacterial communities of all the samples; Marine_Group_I and Methanomicrobia were the two dominant archaeal classes in the effluent receiving area. PCoA and ANOVA revealed strong seasonal but minor spatial changes in both bacterial and archaeal communities in the sediments. The seasonal changes of the bacterial community were less significant than those of the archaeal community, which mainly consisted of fluctuations inabundance of a large proportion of longstanding species rather than the appearance and disappearance ofmajor archaeal species. Temperaturewas found to positively correlatewith the dominant bacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and negatively correlate with the dominant archaea,Marine_Group_I; and might be the primary driving force for the seasonal variation of the microbial community.

采用改良微孔板法,考察p H、温度、培养时间和目标污染物浓度4个环境因子对3株氮杂环芳烃降解菌成膜的影响。结果表明,p H、温度、培养时间对生物膜的形成影响显著,且各降解菌的最佳成膜条件分别为:BC026成膜的最适p H为7,最适温度为35℃,培养时间为36小时;BW001成膜的最适p H为8,最适温度为35℃,培养时间为48小时;BW004成膜的最适p H为7~9,最适温度为40℃,培养时间为36小时。在0~1600 mg/L的目标污染物浓度内,目标污染物对生物膜形成的影响不显著。

细菌硝酸盐异化还原成铵(DNRA)过程能够将河口沉积物中的硝氮转化为氨氮,是河口生态系统中潜在的重要氮循环过程之一。本文介绍DNRA机理与分类,综述河口生态系统中DNRA的地位与影响,并总结河口生态系统中几种重要生态因子对DNRA过程的调控与影响。目前DNRA的机理还有待完善。深入研究各类河口生态系统中环境因子对DNRA的调控与影响机制,并研发新的研究方法,将为我国河口地区的水资源保护和生态治理提供科学依据。