Bacterial community composition and indicators of water quality in Caizi Lake, a typical Yangtze-connected freshwater lake.

Caizi Lake is an important lake connected to the Yangtze River in Anhui Province and a crucial connection for the Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion Project. There were marked differences in trophic status of the six sampling sites based on the physicochemical characterization. The Bacterial Eutrophic Index (BEI), used to quantify water quality, was well related to Carlson's trophic state index (TSI) (Spearman's ρ = 0.829, P < 0.05). Mean TSI and BEI were 54 and 0.58, respectively, indicating that Caizi Lake was slightly eutrophic. Actinobacteriota were the predominant bacterial phylum in the water and Acidobacteriota in sediments. The diversity and composition of the bacterial community was markedly different between sites for water but not sediment samples. Unlike other Yangtze-connected freshwater lakes, the distance-based redundancy analysis revealed that dissolved oxygen affected the composition of the planktonic bacterial community (P < 0.001), while total phosphorus was the major factor in the sediments (P < 0.05). The water quality of Caizi Lake has significantly improved since a few years ago. These results contribute to the long-term monitoring of the ecological quality of the water environment along the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River.