Metagenomic analysis of bacteria and fungi in soils amended with WWTP products - soil bed experiment

The reuse of treated wastewater and biosolids for irrigation purposes and fertilisation in agriculture is a common but controversial practice to save freshwater and provide plants with nutrients. It often leads to a change in physico-chemical properties and the introduction of uncontrolled amounts of pollutants into the soil. As a result, the structures and functions of soil microbial communities (SMC) can change to an unknown extent. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of TWW-irrigation and biosolid (stabilized sludge and composted sludge) on the abundance, diversity and composition of SMC (bacteria and fungi). We have used two arable soils, the Arenosol and Cambisol. The raised soil beds were regularly irrigated with tap water (W) or TWW and used for a vegetable crop rotation. Experiment was running for 2 vegetation seasons (2021, 2022) in the Czech Republic. Soils were sampled several times per season. We have employed amplicon metagenome sequencing: 16S rRNA - V4 region for bacteria and ITS1 for fungi; and measured various chemical and microbial parameters.