Microbial Community Structure in Weaving and Smoked Fish Wastewater and Its Environmental Implications

Abstract

Microbial profiling in the microenvironment of industrial wastewater is part of an effort to develop bioremediation strategies for industrial waste. This study aims to characterize and compare the diversity, structure, and composition of bacterial communities in the microbiota of the weaving and smoked fish industrial wastewater using a metabarcoding approach based on 16S rRNA gene amplicons, along with analysis of heavy metal content and bioremediation. Each wastewater sample was measured for heavy metal levels using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) and composition bacterial communities using metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Metabarcoding analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed a higher number of ASVs in weaving wastewater than in smoked fish wastewater, possibly due to the presence of the heavy metal chromium (Cr), which, although relatively small (0.038 ppm) can be an optimal trace element for supporting bacterial activity. The phyla that dominate the weaving industry’s wastewater are Bacillota (83.64%), Actinomycota (8.35%), and Pseudomonadota (6.26%). The three phyla that dominate the smoked fish industry’s wastewater are Bacillota (71.49%), Bacteroidota (13.61%), and Actinomycota (13.48%). In conclusion, the type of industrial wastewater influences the profile of the bacterial community formed within it. The presence of bacteria with distinct metabolic characteristics in each wastewater has the potential to be utilized in developing more specific and effective bioremediation strategies for industrial wastewater treatment.