Dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in Beibu Gulf
Environmental gradients are important for bacteria community in marine ecosystems. However, the tipping points of environmental heterogeneity and ecological responses to disturbances in marine ecosystems are still unclear. In this study, we sampled seawater from different layers of Beibu Gulf to inv...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1622150/full |
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| author | Qing He Qingxiang Chen Xinyi Qin Shengyao Zhou Rajapakshalage Thashikala Nethmini Gonglingxia Jiang Qinghua Hou Xiaolei Li Laizhen Huang Ke Dong Lingling Xie Nan Li |
| author_facet | Qing He Qingxiang Chen Xinyi Qin Shengyao Zhou Rajapakshalage Thashikala Nethmini Gonglingxia Jiang Qinghua Hou Xiaolei Li Laizhen Huang Ke Dong Lingling Xie Nan Li |
| author_sort | Qing He |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Environmental gradients are important for bacteria community in marine ecosystems. However, the tipping points of environmental heterogeneity and ecological responses to disturbances in marine ecosystems are still unclear. In this study, we sampled seawater from different layers of Beibu Gulf to investigate bacterial composition, diversity, network complexity and stability, and environmental thresholds. Proteobacteria (40.38%), Cyanobacteria (27.35%), and Actinobacteria (18.24%) were dominant across all three layers. Alpha diversity was higher in the bottom layer (BL), and beta diversity were greater in the middle layer (ML). Deterministic processes significantly structured bacterial communities. The BL had the most complex network, while the ML showed the highest stability. Dissolved oxygen (DO) influenced bacterial dissimilarity and community stability, while NO3− drives complexity. Segmented regression identified environmental stress thresholds: pH = 7.79, TN = 7.48 mg/L, and temperature = 27.9°C. DO thresholds for beta diversity were 6.31 mg/L, 6.25 mg/L and 5.93 mg/L across layers, and for βNTI were 6.57 mg/L and 6.24 mg/L in ML and BL. Tipping points for community stability occurred at DO levels of 6.71 mg/L, 5.80 mg/L and 5.94 mg/L. NO3− thresholds of complexity appeared in the SL (at 0.003 mg/L) and BL (0.020 mg/L) samples, but not in ML. This study provides new insights into bacterial stress resistance and community maintenance in the subtropical Gulf marine environments. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-cb7ecef0547e463ca80fa165f378268e2025-08-20T03:26:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-06-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.16221501622150Dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in Beibu GulfQing He0Qingxiang Chen1Xinyi Qin2Shengyao Zhou3Rajapakshalage Thashikala Nethmini4Gonglingxia Jiang5Qinghua Hou6Xiaolei Li7Laizhen Huang8Ke Dong9Lingling Xie10Nan Li11Key Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Environment Change and Resources Use in Beibu Gulf, Ministry of Education (Nanning Normal University), Nanning, ChinaCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Kyonggi University, Suwon-si, Republic of KoreaKey Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Climate, Resources and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Sea of Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Department of Oceanography, Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, ChinaEnvironmental gradients are important for bacteria community in marine ecosystems. However, the tipping points of environmental heterogeneity and ecological responses to disturbances in marine ecosystems are still unclear. In this study, we sampled seawater from different layers of Beibu Gulf to investigate bacterial composition, diversity, network complexity and stability, and environmental thresholds. Proteobacteria (40.38%), Cyanobacteria (27.35%), and Actinobacteria (18.24%) were dominant across all three layers. Alpha diversity was higher in the bottom layer (BL), and beta diversity were greater in the middle layer (ML). Deterministic processes significantly structured bacterial communities. The BL had the most complex network, while the ML showed the highest stability. Dissolved oxygen (DO) influenced bacterial dissimilarity and community stability, while NO3− drives complexity. Segmented regression identified environmental stress thresholds: pH = 7.79, TN = 7.48 mg/L, and temperature = 27.9°C. DO thresholds for beta diversity were 6.31 mg/L, 6.25 mg/L and 5.93 mg/L across layers, and for βNTI were 6.57 mg/L and 6.24 mg/L in ML and BL. Tipping points for community stability occurred at DO levels of 6.71 mg/L, 5.80 mg/L and 5.94 mg/L. NO3− thresholds of complexity appeared in the SL (at 0.003 mg/L) and BL (0.020 mg/L) samples, but not in ML. This study provides new insights into bacterial stress resistance and community maintenance in the subtropical Gulf marine environments.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1622150/fullbacterial communitiesco-occurrence networkcommunity stabilitycommunity complexityenvironmental threshold |
| spellingShingle | Qing He Qingxiang Chen Xinyi Qin Shengyao Zhou Rajapakshalage Thashikala Nethmini Gonglingxia Jiang Qinghua Hou Xiaolei Li Laizhen Huang Ke Dong Lingling Xie Nan Li Dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in Beibu Gulf Frontiers in Microbiology bacterial communities co-occurrence network community stability community complexity environmental threshold |
| title | Dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in Beibu Gulf |
| title_full | Dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in Beibu Gulf |
| title_fullStr | Dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in Beibu Gulf |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in Beibu Gulf |
| title_short | Dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in Beibu Gulf |
| title_sort | dissolved oxygen and nitrates gradient influence marine microbial complexity and stability in beibu gulf |
| topic | bacterial communities co-occurrence network community stability community complexity environmental threshold |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1622150/full |
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