Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1093/femsle/fnaf113
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Bacterial community responses to micropollutants in chemically stressed small rivers in Kenya using environmental DNA
Author Verbücheln, N.; Schaufelberger, S.; Cardis, T.; Tanui, I.C.; Kandie, F.; Brack, W.; Backhaus, T.; Inostroza, P.A.
Source Titel FEMS Microbiology Letters
Year 2025
Department EXPO
Volume 372
Page From fnaf113
Language englisch
Topic T9 Healthy Planet
Supplements Supplement 1
Keywords microbial ecotoxicology; micropollutant; eDNA; land use; nutrients; antimicrobial
Abstract The responses of bacterial communities to changing environmental conditions are manifold but can include structural as well as functional alterations depending on the environmental stressors and toxic chemicals they are exposed to (e.g. pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and industrial chemicals). In this study, environmental DNA was extracted from surface water samples collected from four small rivers in the Lake Victoria South Basin (Western Kenya) to (i) evaluate whether alpha- and beta-diversity change in dependency of land-use types, (ii) identify the environmental variables that explain alterations in community structure, (iii) qualitatively and quantitatively assess the consequences of antimicrobial stress on bacterial communities, and (iv) evaluate bacterial functional changes related to the degradation of organic chemicals. Our findings suggest that bacterial community composition is a more sensitive indicator to reflect the impact of chemical pollution derived from different types of land use compared to alpha-diversity. Nutrients and stress from chemical pollution were the variables explaining the dissimilarities between bacterial communities in small, forested, urbanised, and agricultural rivers. Furthermore, an assessment of potential ecological functions associated with the biodegradation of toxic chemicals unveiled a season-specific decline in bacterial degradation potential in all four rivers.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=31705
Verbücheln, N., Schaufelberger, S., Cardis, T., Tanui, I.C., Kandie, F., Brack, W., Backhaus, T., Inostroza, P.A. (2025):
Bacterial community responses to micropollutants in chemically stressed small rivers in Kenya using environmental DNA
FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 372 , fnaf113 10.1093/femsle/fnaf113