Alonso-Vásquez Tania, Fagorzi Camilla, Mengoni Alessio, Oliva Matteo, Cavalieri Duccio, Pretti Carlo, Cangioli Lisa, Bacci Giovanni, Ugolini Alberto
Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy.
Interuniversity Center of Marine Biology and Applied Ecology (CIBM) "G. Bacci", Livorno, Italy.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2025 Apr;213:117640. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.117640. Epub 2025 Feb 4.
Ports are hot spots of pollution; they receive pollution from land-based sources, marine traffic and port infrastructures. Marine ecosystems of nearby areas can be strongly affected by pollution from port-related activities. Here, we investigated the microbiomes present in sea floor sediments along a transect from the harbour of Livorno (Central Italy) to a nearby marine protected area. Results of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) analyses indicated the presence of different trends of specific bacterial groups (e.g. phyla NB1-j, Acidobacteriota and Desulfobulbales) along the transect, correlating with the measured pollution levels. Human pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were also found. These results demonstrate a pervasive impact of human port activities and highlight the importance of microbiological surveillance of marine sediments, which may constitute a reservoir of ARGs and pathogenic bacteria.
港口是污染热点；它们接收来自陆源、海上交通和港口基础设施的污染。附近海域的海洋生态系统会受到与港口相关活动产生的污染的强烈影响。在此，我们调查了从利沃诺港（意大利中部）到附近一个海洋保护区的一条样带上海底沉积物中存在的微生物群落。16S rRNA扩增子测序和宏基因组组装基因组（MAGs）分析结果表明，沿着样带特定细菌类群（如NB1-j门、酸杆菌门和脱硫球菌目）存在不同的变化趋势，这与测量的污染水平相关。还发现了人类致病细菌和抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）。这些结果证明了人类港口活动的普遍影响，并突出了对海洋沉积物进行微生物监测的重要性，海洋沉积物可能是ARGs和致病细菌的储存库。
