Over the past century, dust emissions have increased in frequency and intensity due to anthropogenic influences and extended droughts. Dust transports microbes, nutrients, heavy metals and other materials that may then change the biogeochemistry of the receiving environments. The purpose of this study was to find whether unique bacterial communities may provide distinct fingerprints of dust sources in the Western USA. We collaborated with the National Wind Erosion Research Network (NWERN) to identify bacterial core communities (core) of dust from ten NWERN sites, and compared communities to location, soil, and regional characteristics. In order of importance, precipitation levels (F = 43, P = 0.0001, Df = 2, r2 = 0.25), location (F = 16, P = 0.0001, Df = 5, r2 = 0.23), soil texture (F = 14, P = 0.0001, Df = 3, r2 =0.12), seasonality (F = 11, P = 0.0001, Df = 2, r2 = 0.064), and elevation (F = 5.7, P = 0.0002, r2 = 0.033) determined bacterial community composition. Bacterial core communities were defined as taxa present in at least 50% of samples at each site and offered predictable patterns of dust communities in terms of abundant (> 1% relative abundance) and rare (< 1% relative abundance) signatures. We found distinct bacterial core communities that reflected dust source systems, for example, sites contaminated with heavy metals contained Romboutsia, Turicibacter, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Geodermatophilus, and Microvirga. Sites with association to plants and biocrusts contained Methylobacterium-Methylorubrum, Bradyrhizobium, Paenibacillus thermoaerophilus, Cohnella, and bacterial families Solirubrobacteraceae, Sphingobacteraceae, and Myxococcaceae. The presence of Sphingomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Rhodococcus, and Phenylobacterium were found in hydrocarbon contaminated soils. High stress (UV radiation and desiccation) sites contained Deinococcus, Blastococcus, and Modestobacter. We found that seasonal changes affected microbial community composition in five NWERN sites (CPER, HAFB, Jornada, Red Hills, and Twin Valley) (p < 0.05), while no seasonal effects on bacterial distribution were observed at Moab. Our results identify that the use of core microbiomes may offer a fingerprinting method to identify dust source regions.

Water crises are predicted to be amongst the risks of highest concern for the next ten years, due to availability, accessibility, quality and management issues. Knowledge of the microbial communities indigenous to drinking water is essential for treatment and distribution process control, risk assessment and infrastructure design. Drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) ideally should deliver to the consumer water of the same microbial quality as that leaving a treatment plant (“biologically stable” according to WHO). At the start of this Ph.D. program water microbiology comprised conventional culturedependent methods, and no studies were available on microbial communities from source to tap. A method combining 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing with flow cytometry was developed to accurately detect, characterize, and enumerate the microorganisms found in a water sample. Studies were conducted in seven fullscale Dutch DWDSs which transport low-AOC water without disinfectant residuals, produced from fresh water applying conventional treatment. Full-scale studies were also conducted at the desalination plant and DWDS of KAUST, Saudi Arabia where drinking water is produced from seawater applying RO membrane treatment and then transported with chlorine residual. Furthermore, biological stability was evaluated in a wastewater reuse application in the Netherlands. When low-AOC water was distributed without disinfectant residuals, greater bacterial richness was detected in the networks, however, temporal and spatial variations in the bacterial community were insignificant and a substantial fraction of the microbiome was still shared between the treated and transported water. This shared fraction was lower in the system transporting water with chlorine residual, where the eukaryotic community changed with residence time. The core microbiome was characterized and dominant members varied between the two systems. Biofilm and deposit-associated communities were found to drive tap water microbiology regardless of water source and treatment scheme. Network flushing was found to be a simple method to assess water microbiology. Biological stability was not associated with safety. The biological stability concept needs to be revised and quantified. Further research is needed to understand microbial functions and processes, how water communities affect the human microbiome, and what the “drinking” water microbiome is like in undeveloped countries. / The research presented in this doctoral dissertation was financially supported by and conducted in collaboration with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and Evides Waterbedrijf in the Netherlands.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Land-use change and soil type can have significant impact on microbial communities of soil. The Pampa biome in recent decades has undergone severe changes in landscape due to landuse change, mainly for the introduction of exotic tree plantation and croplands. Different landuse in Pampa biome were evaluated to determine the effect on the structure of soil microbial communities. Furthermore, due to the presence of various soil types present in this biome, we investigated whether different soil type harbor different microbial communities. Soil samples were collected at two sites with different land-uses (native grassland, native forest, exotic tree plantation and cropland) and in a typical toposequence in Pampa biome formed by Paleudult, Albaqualf and alluvial soils. The structure of soil microbial community (archaeal and fungal) was evaluated by RISA and soil functional capabilities were measured by microbial biomass carbon and metabolic quotient. We detected different patterns in fungal and archaeal community driven by land-use change and soil type showing that both factors are significant drivers of microbial community structure and activity. Acacia and Eucalyptus afforestation presented the most dissimilar communities when compared with natural vegetation. Although differences in the communities were detected, the soils tested shared most of the taxonomic unities and only a proportion of the community suffers changes caused by human interference. / A mudança do uso da terra e o tipo de solo podem exercer impactos significantes sobre a comunidade microbiana do solo. O bioma Pampa Brasileiro, nas últimas décadas, tem sofrido severas mudanças na paisagem devido à mudança no uso da terra, principalmente pela introdução de plantações de árvores exóticas e pelos cultivos agrícolas. Diferentes usos do solo no bioma Pampa foram avaliados para determinar o efeito sobre a estrutura das comunidades microbianas do solo. Além disso, devido à presença de vários tipos de solo presentes neste bioma, foi investigado se diferentes tipos de solos abrigam diferentes comunidades microbianas. Amostras de solo foram coletadas em duas áreas com diferentes usos do solo (pastagem nativa, mata nativa, plantações de árvores exóticas e cultivo agrícola) e em uma topossequência típica no bioma Pampa formado por Argissolo, Planossolo e solos aluviais. A estrutura das comunidades microbianas do solo (arqueas e fungos) foi avaliada por RISA e capacidades funcionais do solo foram mensuradas através de carbono da biomassa microbiana e quociente metabólico. Diferentes padrões foram detectados nas comunidades de fungos e arqueas influenciados pela mudança no uso da terra e pelo tipo de solo, mostrando que ambos são importantes fatores da estrutura e atividade da comunidade microbiana. Florestamentos de acácia e eucalipto apresentaram as comunidades mais diferentes quando comparados com a vegetação natural. Embora diferenças nas comunidades foram detectadas, os diferentes usos e tipos de solos avaliados compartilham grande parte das unidades taxonômicas e mostram que apenas uma parte da comunidade sofre alterações causadas pela interferência humana.