Spatial distribution characteristics of bacterial community structure and gene abundance in sediments of the Bohai Sea

This study investigated differences in the community structure and environmental responses of the bacterial community in sediments of the Bohai Sea. Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology and real-time PCR were used to assay the bacterial 16S rRNA genes in the surface sediments of 13 sampling stations in the Bohai Sea. The results showed that sediments at the majority of the 13 sampling stations were contaminated by heavy metal mercury. The main phyla of bacteria recorded included Proteobacteria (52.92%), Bacteroidetes (11.76%), Planctomycetes (7.39%), Acidobacteria (6.53%) and Chloroflexi (4.97%). The genus with the highest relative abundance was Desulfobulbus (4.99%), which was the dominant genus at most sampling stations, followed by Lutimonas and Halioglobus. The main factors influencing bacterial community structure were total organic carbon, followed by depth and total phosphorus. The content of lead, cadmium, chromium, copper and zinc had a consistent effect on community structure. Arsenic showed a negative correlation with bacterial community structure in most samples, while the impact of mercury on community structure was not significant. The bacterial community in sediment samples from the Bohai Sea was rich in diversity and displayed an increase in diversity from high to low latitudes. The data indicated that the Bohai Sea had abundant microbial resources and was rich in bacteria with the potential to metabolize many types of pollutants.