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Microbial structure and diversity in non-sanitary landfills and association with physicochemical parameters

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Abstract

This study assessed the bacterial populations in a non-sanitary landfill around Guarani Aquifer recharge zone in Brazil. Samples from two different positions (sites 1 and 2) at three different depths were evaluated, totaling six solid waste samples; two samples from an impacted stream were also collected. 16S rRNA sequencing was performed using the Ion S5TM XL platform; 3113 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and 52 phyla were identified. Proteobacteria (37%) and Firmicutes (28%) were the most abundant phyla in the landfill, whereas Proteobacteria (~ 50%) and Bacteroidetes (~ 10%) were more profuse in surface water samples. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) enabled us to clearly separate the samples according to their spatial location (site 1 or 2) or environmental matrix (surface water or solid waste samples), showing that microbiological populations are strongly associated with site-specific conditions and the kind of environmental matrix they come from. Environmental factors that mostly influenced the microbial communities were organic matter, oxidation–reduction potential, moisture, alkalinity, nitrogen (TKN), sodium, potassium, and zinc. Exiguobacterium (phylum Firmicutes) was overwhelmingly dominant at site 1 and was associated with higher concentrations of organic matter and potassium. Differently, site 2 did not present such dominant genera and was more diverse having lower concentrations of organic matter and nutrients. Distinct environments co-exist inside the same waste deposit, including zones which are representative of active and closed landfills and the occurrence of considerable physicochemical and microbiological shifts within short distances. Those shifts indicate that microbial populations are well adapted to the heterogeneity typical of urban solid waste, which is possibly beneficial to contaminant degradation.

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  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/PRJNA566349

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Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, grant number 168734/2018-4) and by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, grant numbers 2015/03806-1 and 2018/24615-8).

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  1. São CarlosSchool of Engineering (EESC), University of São Paulo, Avenida Trabalhador São Carlense 400, São Carlos, SP, 13566-590, Brazil

    Alice Kimie Martins Morita, Isabel Kimiko Sakamoto, Maria Bernadete Amancio Varesche & Edson Wendland

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  1. Alice Kimie Martins Morita
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  2. Isabel Kimiko Sakamoto
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  3. Maria Bernadete Amancio Varesche
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Highlights

• Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the most abundant phyla in the landfill.

• Lower COD, alkalinity, PO43−, SO42−, N-NH4−, N-NO3−, TKN, Na, Mg, and K values were associated with higher ecological indexes.

• COD, Na, K, TKN, and ORP strongly influenced the populations.

• Exiguobacterium was identified in samples with higher organic matter concentrations.

• Zones representative of active and closed landfills co-exist inside the deposit.

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Morita, A.K.M., Sakamoto, I.K., Varesche, M.B.A. et al. Microbial structure and diversity in non-sanitary landfills and association with physicochemical parameters. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 40690–40705 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10097-4

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