Biogeographical distribution of Microbial Communities along the Rajang River-South China Sea Continuum

The Rajang River is the main drainage system for central Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo which passes through peat domes whereby peat-rich material is being fed into the system and eventually into the southern South China Sea. Microbial communities found within peat-rich systems are important biogeochemical cyclers in terms of methane and carbon dioxide sequestration. To address the critical lack of knowledge about microbial communities in tropical (peat-draining) rivers, this study represents the first seasonal assessment targeted at establishing a foundational understanding of the microbial communities of the Rajang River-South China Sea continuum. This was carried out utilizing 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing via Illumina MiSeq in size-fractionated samples (0.2 and 3.0 m GF/C filter membranes) covering different biogeographical features/sources from headwaters to coastal waters.