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Bacterial community composition and biogeochemical heterogeneity in PAH-contaminated riverbank sediments

  • SEDIMENTS, SEC 4 • SEDIMENT-ECOLOGY INTERACTIONS • RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Abstract

Purpose

Predicting response of microbial communities to pollution requires an underlying understanding of the linkage between microbial community structure and geochemical conditions. Yet, there is scarce information about microbial communities in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)-contaminated riverbank sediments. The aim of this study was to characterize bacterial communities in highly PAH-contaminated sediments and establish correlations between bacterial communities and environmental geochemistry of the sediments.

Materials and methods

Sediment core samples were collected from a highly PAH-contaminated site for (1) analysis of geochemical parameters including total nitrogen, total organic matter, moisture, total carbon, sulfate, pH, and PAH concentrations and (2) bacterial enumeration, 16S rDNA-based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and sequencing.

Results and discussion

Non-metric dimensional scaling analyses revealed that bacterial community composition was strongly influenced by PAH concentration. Sulfate, organic matter, pH, and moisture were also related to community composition. A diverse microbial community was identified by the large number of operational taxonomic units recovered and by phylogenetic analyses. δ-Proteobacteria, firmicutes, and bacteriodetes were the dominant groups recovered. We also observed a high number of phylotypes associated with sulfate-reducing bacteria, some of which have been previously described as important in PAH degradation.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that, despite intense pollution, bacterial community composition did exhibit temporal and spatial variations and were influenced by sediment geochemistry. Significant relationships between bacterial community composition and PAHs suggest that, potentially, extant microbial communities may contribute to natural attenuation and/or bioremediation of PAHs.

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Acknowledgments

G. Johnston was supported by the National Science Foundation Integrated Graduate Education and Research Training grant DGE 0904560. This research was funded by the Art and Margaret Herrick Aquatic Ecology Research Facility Student Research Grant at Kent State University. We thank Dr. Thomas Diggins, Youngstown State University, for considerable assistance with the statistical analyses, Dr. Kurt Smemo, Holden Arboretum Cleveland, for his technical assistance, Dr. David Lineman for GC-MS analysis, and Mr. Daniel Lisko, Youngstown State University, for field and technical support.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA

    Gloria P. Johnston & Laura G. Leff

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  1. Gloria P. Johnston
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Correspondence to Gloria P. Johnston.

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Responsible editor: John R. Lawrence

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Johnston, G.P., Leff, L.G. Bacterial community composition and biogeochemical heterogeneity in PAH-contaminated riverbank sediments. J Soils Sediments 15, 225–239 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-1005-2

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