Ecological differentiation and assembly processes of abundant and rare bacterial subcommunities in karst groundwater.

ABSTRACT: The ecological health of karst groundwater has been of global concern due to increasing anthropogenic activities. Bacteria comprising a few abundant taxa (AT) and plentiful rare taxa (RT) play essential roles in maintaining ecosystem stability, yet limited information is known about their ecological differentiation and assembly processes in karst groundwater. Based on a metabarcoding analysis of 64 groundwater samples from typical karst regions in southwest China, we revealed the environmental drivers, ecological roles, and assembly mechanisms of abundant and rare bacterial communities. We found a relatively high abundance of potential functional groups associated with parasites and pathogens in karst groundwater, which might be linked to the frequent regional anthropogenic activities. Our

SUBMITTER: Zhong S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10407230 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature