Probing the microbiome in stormwater pipeline sediments: Co-occurrence patterns and novel functionalities

Stormwater pipeline is an essential pathway to transfer stormwater runoff into nearby receiving water bodies. Understanding the composition, co-occurrence patterns, and function of the microbial communities in stormwater pipeline sediments can help to provide management and control strategies for stormwater runoff pollution to safeguard water safety and ecological health of the urban water environment. This study employs 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to probe the microbial communities in stormwater pipeline sediments of a highly urbanized area in Guangzhou, China. Results show that the sediment bacterial community is rich in Listeria, Prevotella, Stenotrophomonas, and Pseudomonas, which all pertain to pathogens. Methanogens (Methanobacterium, Methanosaeta, Methanosarcina, and Methanobrevibacter) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (Ca. Nitrosopelagicus, Ca. Nitrososphaera, and Ca. Nitrosotenuis) dominated the archaeal community in stormwater pipeline sediments. These microbial functions are further validated by the function prediction of the overall microbial community. The co-occurrence network and microbe-environment correlation analyses suggest that particulate C-N-P components play a more crucial role, in comparison to dissolved ones in regulating the sediment microbiome, although not all samples follow this mechanism. These findings are expected to contribute to the pollution control of stormwater runoff in stormwater pipeline systems and provide valuable guidance for improving the environmental well-being of urban water ecosystems.