Mytilus Farming Drives Higher Local Bacterial Diversity and Facilitates the Accumulation of Aerobic Anoxygenic Photoheterotrophic Related Genera

Research to assess the impacts of mariculture on the microbiota of the surrounding environment is still inadequate. Here, we examined the effects of Mytilus coruscus farming on the diversity of bacterial community in surrounding seawater using field investigations and indoor simulations, focusing on the variation of members of aerobic anoxygenic photoheterotrophic (AAP) bacteria. In the field, Mytilus farming shaped bacterial community and significantly increased their diversity, including biomass, OTUs, Shannon, relative abundance, number of enriched species, as compared with the non-farming area. Higher abundance of AAP related genera was observed in the Mytilus farming seawater. Under the controlled condition, the presence of M. coruscus significantly shaped the bacterial community composition and caused species composition to become similar after 10 days. Furthermore, the presence of M. coruscus consistently strengthened local diversity in seawater bacterial community, with linkages to the recruitment of AAP members as well. In addition, the tissue-related composition of M. coruscus significantly differed from those in seawater. Our findings highlight a ecological importance of Mytilus farming, as process that shape surrounding water-cultured bacterial community and offer experimental evidence for the accumulation of AAP-related genera in aquaculture systems.