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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Aquatic Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1479542

Shotgun metagenomics reveals the interplay between microbiome diversity and environmental gradients in the first Marine Protected Area in the northern Arabian Gulf

Provisionally accepted
Saja Adel Fakhraldeen Saja Adel Fakhraldeen *Rakhesh Madhusoodhanan Rakhesh Madhusoodhanan Nazima Habibi Nazima Habibi Sakinah Al-Haddad Sakinah Al-Haddad Surendraraj Alagarsamy Surendraraj Alagarsamy Sabeena Farvin Koduvyar Habeebullah Sabeena Farvin Koduvyar Habeebullah Walid M. Al-Zakri Walid M. Al-Zakri Fathima Thuslim Fathima Thuslim Loreta N. Fernandes Loreta N. Fernandes Faiza Yousef Al-Yamani Faiza Yousef Al-Yamani Turki Al-Said Turki Al-Said
  • Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait City, Kuwait

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The northwest Arabian Gulf encounters significant anthropogenic pressures, including nutrient enrichment from coastal development and effluent discharge. This study presents the first shotgun metagenomics-based characterization of microbial communities in Kuwaiti waters of the northwest Arabian Gulf, focusing on Kuwait’s first Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Sulaibikhat Bay, a vital nursery ground for commercially important fish. Analysis revealed significantly higher microbial diversity within the MPA compared to adjacent waters, with Rhodobacteraceae (27.8%) and Flavobacteriaceae (15.3%) being dominant. Elevated inorganic phosphorus, nitrogen, and salinity were key factors driving this diversity. Multivariate analysis highlighted phosphate as a critical component affecting the MPA microbial community structure, particularly for the families Microbacteriaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, and Rhodobacteraceae. This study underscores the ecological importance of MPAs and highlights the impact of nutrient enrichment and other environmental stressors on microbial diversity, emphasizing the need to reduce nutrient influx to mitigate eutrophication and enhance marine ecosystem resilience in stressed environments.

    Keywords: Microbial Diversity, Shotgun metagenomics, Anthropogenic stressors, Hypersaline system, Kuwait Bay, Persian/Arabian Gulf

    Received: 12 Aug 2024; Accepted: 24 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fakhraldeen, Madhusoodhanan, Habibi, Al-Haddad, Alagarsamy, Habeebullah, Al-Zakri, Thuslim, Fernandes, Al-Yamani and Al-Said. 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: Saja Adel Fakhraldeen, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait City, Kuwait

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.