The bacterial influencing mechanisms of salinity fluctuations in a brackish-water lake on the dissolved organic matter characteristics of pore water

Abstract

The dissolved organic matter (DOM) components in lake water have been widely studied; however, few previous studies have considered the growth of Phragmites australis in brackish lakes. It has not been well understood how salinity variations influence the DOM compositions in pore water and its bacterial mechanisms in lakes with Phragmites australis. This experiment included three salinity groups (1,200 mg/L, 3,600 mg/L, and 6,000 mg/L) to study the interactions between bacteria and DOM in pore water under a salinity gradient. The results showed that the maximum fluorescence intensity (F_max) of DOM measured by excitation-emission fluorescence spectroscopy decreased with increasing salinity. Higher salinity reduced the F_max of protein-like substances and resulted in DOM becoming more aromatic. Salinity affected DOM composition due to the responses of functional bacterial communities. Thiobacillus was salt-tolerant and dominated in the sediments, and its relative abundance was negatively correlated with the F_max of protein-like components. The relative abundance of Flavobacterium showed a positive correlation with salinity and a negative correlation with the F_max of the fulvic acid-like component. Pseudomonas, Brevundimonas, and Polaromonas were negatively correlated with salinity and the F_max of the fulvic acid-like component, while being positively correlated with the F_max of tyrosine-like and aromatic protein substances. Higher salinity inhibited the metabolism gene modules of tryptophan and tyrosine. The results of this study may offer a novel perspective on comprehending the biochemical cycling of fluorescent DOM, encompassing tryptophan-like, tyrosine-like, and fulvic acid-like components in brackish lakes with fluctuating salinity.