Marine Sediment Microbiome Responses to Aquaculture Pollutants

16S rRNA gene sequencing data profiles bacterial communities in mud and sand sediment microcosms spiked with fish waste, emamectin benzoate, and oxytetracycline. The study quantifies amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), reporting 1106 ASVs in control mud, decreasing to 729 and 596 ASVs with low and high organic matter enrichment. Researchers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted the experiment, collecting samples at trial initiation and after 110 days for analysis published in 2023.

Use Cases

• Analyze shifts in relative abundance of phyla like Spirochaetota, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidota across different organic matter enrichment levels.
• Compare alpha diversity metrics, such as ASV counts, between mud and sand sediment types under control and treatment conditions.
• Investigate potential taxonomic shifts in bacterial communities associated with emamectin benzoate (60 ng/g) and oxytetracycline (150 ng/g) exposures.
• Profile microbiome composition using 16S rRNA gene sequences from the V3-V4 region to assess community responses to aquaculture-related stressors.

Strengths

• Data includes quantified microbial responses, such as ASV counts ranging from 596 to 1106, providing concrete measures of alpha diversity.
• Experimental design uses environmentally-relevant concentrations of pollutants (e.g., 60 ng/g EMB, 150 ng/g OTC) and two sediment types (mud, sand).
• Study is peer-reviewed and published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (Volume 268, 2023), ensuring methodological rigor.

Limitations

• The dataset is derived from a controlled microcosm experiment, which may not fully replicate complex in-situ environmental conditions.
• Authors note that EMB and OTC additions did not result in distinct taxonomic shifts within the 110-day experiment, potentially limiting analysis of drug effects.
• Specific data structure details like row count, column names, and sample size are not provided in the input metadata.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.

Collection Method

Sediment microcosm experiment with 16S rRNA gene sequencing (V3-V4 region) for microbiome profiling.

Time Range

Samples collected at trial initiation and after 110 days.

Freshness

Data reflects a study published in 2023, with metadata last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Marine sediment microcosms; specific geographic origin of sediments not stated.