Pb pollution altered bacterial community assembly and predicted functions in aggregate-size fractions of agricultural soil near a smelter

Abstract

In order to investigate the impact of Pb smelter pollution on bacterial community structure, diversity and function at the microenvironment scale, the maize rhizosphere soils subjected to long-term (over 20 years) Pb smelter pollution were collected, and bacterial communities and putative functions in different aggregate-size fractions were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing, KEGG and FAPROTAX. The results showed that Pb pollution significantly diminished bacterial diversity, and prompted a shift in the bacterial communities toward more oligotrophic taxa, including Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, and Gemmatimonadetes. Furthermore, the functional subcategories related to cell motility and energy metabolism, as well as the functional groups involved in carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) cycles, exhibited a marked decline under Pb pollution. At the aggregate scale, distinct differences were observed in the composition of bacterial communities across silt and clay (<250 μm), micro-aggregates (250–1000 μm), and macro-aggregates (1000–2000 μm and >2000 μm) in uncontaminated soils. However, Pb pollution disrupted these original distinctions among bacterial communities in various aggregate-size fractions, with a decreased abundance of dominant Proteobacteria and an increased abundance of Firmicutes in large aggregates. While the differences in bacterial functional groups in aggregate-size fractions were also detected. The functional groups associated with C and N cycles were significantly enriched in the macro-aggregates (1000–2000 μm) in uncontaminated soils. However, similar with the change of bacterial community structure, most functional groups (except for chemoheterotrophy) in aggregate-size fractions exhibited no significant differences under Pb exposure. Our results suggested that Pb pollution altered bacterial community structure and predicted functions at the aggregate level, and showed greater negative effects on bacterial functions in macro-aggregates (1000–2000 μm). This study can provide a new perspective for the influence of Pb smelter pollution on soil aggregate microenvironment.