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Temporal bacterial diversity associated with metal-contaminated river sediments

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Abstract

The temporal activity, abundance and diversity of microbial communities were evaluated across a metal-contamination gradient around a Superfund site in Montana. In order to analyze short-term variability, samples were collected from six sites on four occasions over 12 months. Measurements of community activity, diversity and richness, quantified by dehydrogenase activity and through denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), respectively, were higher at contaminated sites adjacent to the smelter, relative to reference sites. 16S rRNA gene copy numbers, measured by quantitative PCR, showed seasonal variability, yet were generally higher within polluted sediments. Jaccard similarity coefficients of DGGE profiles, found sites to cluster based primarily on geographical proximity rather than geochemical similarities. Intra-site clustering of the most polluted sites also suggests a stable metal-tolerant community. Sequences from DGGE-extracted bands were predominantly Beta and Gammaproteobacteria, although the communities at all sites generally maintained a diverse phylogeny changing in composition throughout the sampling period. Spearman’s rank correlations analysis found statistically significant relationships between community composition and organic carbon (r-value = 0.786) and metals (r-values As = 0.65; Cu = 0.63; Zn = 0.62). A diverse and abundant community at the most polluted site indicates that historical contamination selects for a metal-resistant microbial community, a finding that must be accounted for when using the microbial community within ecosystem monitoring studies. This study highlights the importance of using multiple time-points to draw conclusions on the affect of metal contamination.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Mark Skidmore, Steve Hamner, Elliot Barnhart and Sue Broadaway (MSU) for help with sample collection and chemical analysis. The constructive comments of two anonymous reviewers helped improve the manuscript. This publication was made possible by grant number 5 P42 ES05947 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, and through grants from the Montana ideas network for biomedical research excellence (INBRE). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIEHS, NIH.

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Author notes

  1. Tamara S. Galloway

    Present address: Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

  2. Timothy E. Ford

    Present address: University of New England, Biddeford, ME, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Montana State University, 109, Lewis Hall, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA

    Nicholas J. Bouskill, Jill Barker-Finkel & Timothy E. Ford

  2. Ecotoxicology and Stress Biology Research Center, School of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, UK

    Tamara S. Galloway & Richard D. Handy

  3. Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, 113 Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Nicholas J. Bouskill

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Correspondence to Nicholas J. Bouskill.

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Bouskill, N.J., Barker-Finkel, J., Galloway, T.S. et al. Temporal bacterial diversity associated with metal-contaminated river sediments. Ecotoxicology 19, 317–328 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-009-0414-2

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