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. 2022 Oct 7;14(10):688.
doi: 10.3390/toxins14100688.

Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing to Assess Cyanobacterial Community Composition following Coagulation of Cyanobacterial Blooms

Kim Thien Nguyen Le  1 , Juan Francisco Guerra Maldonado  1 , Eyerusalem Goitom  2 , Hana Trigui  3 , Yves Terrat  4 , Thanh-Luan Nguyen  1 , Barry Husk  5 , B Jesse Shapiro  4   6   7 , Sébastien Sauvé  8 , Michèle Prévost  1 , Sarah Dorner  1
Affiliations

Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing to Assess Cyanobacterial Community Composition following Coagulation of Cyanobacterial Blooms

Kim Thien Nguyen Le et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

The excessive proliferation of cyanobacteria in surface waters is a widespread problem worldwide, leading to the contamination of drinking water sources. Short- and long-term solutions for managing cyanobacterial blooms are needed for drinking water supplies. The goal of this research was to investigate the cyanobacteria community composition using shotgun metagenomics in a short term, in situ mesocosm experiment of two lakes following their coagulation with ferric sulfate (Fe2(SO4)3) as an option for source water treatment. Among the nutrient paramenters, dissolved nitrogen was related to Microcystis in both Missisquoi Bay and Petit Lac St. François, while the presence of Synechococcus was related to total nitrogen, dissolved nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, and dissolved phosphorus. Results from the shotgun metagenomic sequencing showed that Dolichospermum and Microcystis were the dominant genera in all of the mesocosms in the beginning of the sampling period in Missisquoi Bay and Petit Lac St. François, respectively. Potentially toxigenic genera such as Microcystis were correlated with intracellular microcystin concentrations. A principal component analysis showed that there was a change of the cyanobacterial composition at the genus level in the mesocosms after two days, which varied across the studied sites and sampling time. The cyanobacterial community richness and diversity did not change significantly after its coagulation by Fe2(SO4)3 in all of the mesocosms at either site. The use of Fe2(SO4)3 for an onsite source water treatment should consider its impact on cyanobacterial community structure and the reduction of toxin concentrations.

Keywords: coagulation; cyanobacterial blooms; cyanobacterial community; cyanotoxins; ferric sulfate; high-throughput sequencing; mesocosms; microcystins; shotgun metagenomics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average cyanobacterial relative abundance at genus level in Missisquoi Bay (A,B) and Petit Lac St. François (C,D).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Principal components analysis (PCA) of the normalized relative abundance of cyanobacteria community composition in control, 20 mgFe/L, and 35 mgFe/L mesocosms with respect to genus abundance in Missisquoi Bay. (A) PCA analysis of cyanobacterial community following coagulation; (B) data plotted following the genus-level classification.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Evaluation of cyanobacterial richness and diversity in control, 20 mgFe/L, and 35 mgFe/L mesocosms in Missisquoi Bay and Petit Lac St. François after two days of treatment. The bottom and top of the box shows the lower and upper quartiles, the band in between them shows the median, and the whiskers show the minimum and maxinum.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Redundancy analysis (RDA) of environmental parameters with respect to cyanobacterial communities in the control, 20 mgFe/L, and 35 mgFe/L mesocosms in Missisquoi Bay. Only significant parameters (p < 0.05) are shown.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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