ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbiological Chemistry and Geomicrobiology
This article is part of the Research TopicMicrobial Involvement in Biogeochemical Cycling and Contaminant Transformations at Land-Water Ecotones - Volume 2View all 6 articles
Arsenic speciation distribution in industrially polluted estuarine sediments and effects on bacterial communities
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
- 2Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
- 3China Rural Technology Development Center, Beijing, China
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Industrial wastewater is a major source of coastal pollution. Heavy metal contamination poses a substantial risk to the ecological integrity of an area by altering the structure and function of bacterial communities. This study systematically analyzed the distribution of total and arsenic (As) fractions in surface and sediment profiles and the response of bacterial communities to As contamination in the industrially polluted estuarine areas. The results revealed significant spatial variability in As concentrations across the sampling sites, with the highest As level detected at the sewage discharge outlet, reaching 979.05 ± 106.17 mg/kg. A pronounced decline in total As (T-As) concentrations was observed with increasing sediment depth, underscoring the predominant contribution of industrial emissions to sedimentary As accumulation. A significant positive correlation between As and iron (Fe) suggested that As retention was likely to be primarily associated with amorphous Fe minerals. Notably, bioavailable As (B-As) constituted 72.92 ± 4.15% of the T-As in sediments, highlighting its potential ecological impact. Further analysis demonstrated that T-As, B-As, and strongly adsorbed As (AsPO4) were key determinants of bacterial community diversity and composition. It also found that sediment As levels correlated significantly with the abundance of a major bacterial phylum, the expression of arsenic resistance genes, and the functional potentials of bacterial communities involved in nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and phosphorus (P) cycling. Overall, this study provides that As contamination in industrially polluted estuarine areas exerts a profound influence on the abundance, diversity, and functional potential of bacterial communities.
Keywords: estuarine sediments, Arsenic, speciation, Bacterial communities, Elemental cycle
Received: 29 Sep 2025; Accepted: 28 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Yu, Zhao and Dai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaoman Yu, yuxiaoman@syau.edu.cn
Quanyu Dai, 28955562@qq.com
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