Biogeographic Patterns and Community Assembly Processes of Bacterioplankton and Potential Pathogens in Subtropical Estuaries in China
Wenjian Chen, Shilei Sang, Liyi Shao, Yusen Li, Tongzhou Li, Lihong Gan, Li Liu, Dapeng Wang, Lei Zhou
Abstract
Bacterioplankton play an important role in estuarine ecosystem functions and services; however, potentially pathogenic bacteria may exhibit infectivity and pose a serious threat to environmental and human health. In this study, geographic patterns and assembly processes of bacterioplankton communities in 30 subtropical estuaries were explored, and potential pathogenic bacteria in the estuaries were detected and profiled. Our results demonstrate here that bacterioplankton and pathogens show similar biogeographic patterns under the influence of salinity. Interestingly, heterogeneous selection dominated bacterioplankton assembly, while stochasticity dominated pathogen assembly. This study provides important information for future risk assessment of potential pathogenic bacteria as well as management in estuarine ecosystems.