Characterization, Microbial Community Structure, and Pathogen Occurrence in Two Typical Eel Farms
Pollutants and pathogens in aquaculture systems may cause economic losses and threaten public health. Yet, the risks associated with microbiological contaminants and their relationship with environmental factors remain largely unknown. In this study, two typical eel farms in southeast China were cho...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Jing-Ying Lai Hui-Rong Lin Xiao-Hui Sun Gong-Ren Hu Rui-Lian Yu Jia-Qi Li |
| author_facet | Jing-Ying Lai Hui-Rong Lin Xiao-Hui Sun Gong-Ren Hu Rui-Lian Yu Jia-Qi Li |
| author_sort | Jing-Ying Lai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pollutants and pathogens in aquaculture systems may cause economic losses and threaten public health. Yet, the risks associated with microbiological contaminants and their relationship with environmental factors remain largely unknown. In this study, two typical eel farms in southeast China were chosen for investigation of water quality and microbial community in the treatment processes. It was found that flocculant addition can only effectively reduce total phosphorus (TP) in both farms. However, excessive total nitrogen (TN) was found (6.16 mg/L and 6.74 mg/L, respectively). NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> (3.98 mg/L) was the main nitrogen pollutant in QR farm, while NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> (3.81 mg/L) and NO<sub>2</sub><sup>−</sup> (1.22 mg/L) were the main nitrogen pollutants in ZJ farm. The treatment processes could not effectively remove nitrogen pollution, and the abundance of nitrogen functional bacteria was low. NO<sub>2</sub><sup>−</sup> was positively correlated with Verrucomicrobiota (<i>p</i> < 0.05). NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and TN were significantly negatively correlated with Nitrospirota and <i>unclassified_f_Anaerolineaceae</i>, respectively (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Some typical pathogens associated with aquaculture (e.g., <i>Lactococcus</i>) and human beings (e.g., <i>Escherichia-Shigella</i>,) were found in the systems. This study proposes suggestions for aquaculture tailwater by analyzing the shortcomings of the existing treatment processes. Meanwhile, it offers certain support for the prevention of pathogen risks in aquaculture systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1be51ab716e7436d87b5cb75450ba7e8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-1be51ab716e7436d87b5cb75450ba7e82025-08-20T03:56:45ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-07-01137162410.3390/microorganisms13071624Characterization, Microbial Community Structure, and Pathogen Occurrence in Two Typical Eel FarmsJing-Ying Lai0Hui-Rong Lin1Xiao-Hui Sun2Gong-Ren Hu3Rui-Lian Yu4Jia-Qi Li5College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, ChinaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, ChinaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, ChinaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, ChinaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, ChinaCollege of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, ChinaPollutants and pathogens in aquaculture systems may cause economic losses and threaten public health. Yet, the risks associated with microbiological contaminants and their relationship with environmental factors remain largely unknown. In this study, two typical eel farms in southeast China were chosen for investigation of water quality and microbial community in the treatment processes. It was found that flocculant addition can only effectively reduce total phosphorus (TP) in both farms. However, excessive total nitrogen (TN) was found (6.16 mg/L and 6.74 mg/L, respectively). NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> (3.98 mg/L) was the main nitrogen pollutant in QR farm, while NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> (3.81 mg/L) and NO<sub>2</sub><sup>−</sup> (1.22 mg/L) were the main nitrogen pollutants in ZJ farm. The treatment processes could not effectively remove nitrogen pollution, and the abundance of nitrogen functional bacteria was low. NO<sub>2</sub><sup>−</sup> was positively correlated with Verrucomicrobiota (<i>p</i> < 0.05). NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and TN were significantly negatively correlated with Nitrospirota and <i>unclassified_f_Anaerolineaceae</i>, respectively (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Some typical pathogens associated with aquaculture (e.g., <i>Lactococcus</i>) and human beings (e.g., <i>Escherichia-Shigella</i>,) were found in the systems. This study proposes suggestions for aquaculture tailwater by analyzing the shortcomings of the existing treatment processes. Meanwhile, it offers certain support for the prevention of pathogen risks in aquaculture systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/7/1624nitrogen pollutionaquaculture wastewater treatmentpathogensprocess optimization |
| spellingShingle | Jing-Ying Lai Hui-Rong Lin Xiao-Hui Sun Gong-Ren Hu Rui-Lian Yu Jia-Qi Li Characterization, Microbial Community Structure, and Pathogen Occurrence in Two Typical Eel Farms Microorganisms nitrogen pollution aquaculture wastewater treatment pathogens process optimization |
| title | Characterization, Microbial Community Structure, and Pathogen Occurrence in Two Typical Eel Farms |
| title_full | Characterization, Microbial Community Structure, and Pathogen Occurrence in Two Typical Eel Farms |
| title_fullStr | Characterization, Microbial Community Structure, and Pathogen Occurrence in Two Typical Eel Farms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization, Microbial Community Structure, and Pathogen Occurrence in Two Typical Eel Farms |
| title_short | Characterization, Microbial Community Structure, and Pathogen Occurrence in Two Typical Eel Farms |
| title_sort | characterization microbial community structure and pathogen occurrence in two typical eel farms |
| topic | nitrogen pollution aquaculture wastewater treatment pathogens process optimization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/7/1624 |
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