Biological Systems: Theory and Innovation

The utility of metagenomic data for the Black Sea ecological status assessment

M. Pavlovska, Alla Klepko, Ye. Prekrasna-Kviatkovska
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Abstract

According to Marine Strategy Framework Directive the assessment of marine ecosystems’ environmental status is performed with 11 Descriptors, which are based on biological, physical and chemical parameters.  The biological indexes are calculated based on taxonomic structure and distribution of eukaryotic communities. Meanwhile, bacterioplankton is sensitive to anthropogenic impact and is thus a promising indicator of aquatic environment status. We have tested the utility of ecological pressure index (Pi) calculated with chemical data and bacterial community-based index (microgAMBI) for the assessment of Black sea waters ecological status. According to our estimations Pi varied depending on the chemical data used for its calculation, which indicates the necessity of using a wide range of xenobiotics in complex ecological status assessment. MicrogAMBI indicated that the Black sea surface waters can be characterized by “good” environmental status. “Moderate”, “poor” and “bad” ecological status was shown for 3 stations, yet there were no significant region-specific differences between the shelf zone and the open water. Actinomycetales, Halomonadaceae and Shewanella relative abundance was associated with higher microgAMBI estimations and respectively with worse ecological status. Meanwhile, positive correlation was found between Synechococcus, Acidimicrobiaceae, Pelagibacteraceae, Rhodobacteraceae, Microbacteriaceae, Polaribacter, Rhodothermaceae and Chloroflexi abundance and “good” ecological status. Microbial metagenomic data is promising for the complex assessmnet of Black sea waters ecological status, however, more research is needed to validate this approach. The development of metagenomic databases will contribite to increase in precision of microgAMBI calculation and subsequent ecological status analysis

Keywords

ecological status; index; microbial communities; xenobiotics; Black sea

Suggested citation
Pavlovska, M., Klepko, A., & Prekrasna-Kviatkovska, Ye. (2023). The utility of metagenomic data for the Black Sea ecological status assessment. Biological Systems: Theory and Innovation, 14(1), 61-72. https://doi.org/10.31548/biologiya14(1-2).2023.006
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