Community structure and ecological diversity of bacteria in Yuncheng Salt Lake

Abstract:

[Background] Yuncheng Salt Lake is a high-salt environment with intensive human activities. The community structure and ecological diversity of bacteria in Yuncheng Salt Lake are similar to those in other salt lakes while having their particularities. [Objective] Yuncheng Salt Lake is rich in color and harbors abundant halophilic and salt-tolerant microorganisms. To understand the distribution of bacterial resources in Yuncheng Salt Lake, we measured the bacterial diversity and community structures in different areas of this lake. [Methods] We employed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to study the community structures of halophiles in different areas of Yuncheng Salt Lake and predicted the potential metabolic functions of the bacteria. [Results] The dominant bacteria varied in different areas of Yuncheng Salt Lake. Specifically, Pseudomonadota, Actinobacteriota, and Bacteroidota were dominant in the central lake, Bacillota in the eastern lake, and Patescibacteria in the western lake. The bacterial diversity in the central lake area with light yellow water was significantly higher than that in the eastern and western lake. However, the bacterial diversity was low in the central lake area with red water. This result indicated that the bacterial distribution was different in the central lake areas with different water colors the metabolic pathway activity of bacteria in the salt lake and strong regional distribution. The microbial metabolism in the east and west lake was more active than that in the lake. [Conclusion] Bacteria show high diversity in Yuncheng Salt Lake. The environment in different of lake influence the community structure of bacteria. This study provides a theoretical basis for the diversity conservation, development, and utilization of the bacterial resources in Yuncheng Salt Lake.