The Ganga is a major riverine system of India providing ecosystem services to millions of households. However, this river is under stress due to various anthropogenic activities. River sediment harbours a variety of microorganisms which has a tremendous influence on river health. In the present study, metagenomic approach for microbial community characterization of three sediment samples collected from River Ganga at Farakka stretch was carried out. The sediment samples were sequenced using a high-throughput Next Generation Sequencing platform. Taxonomical classification study showed that the occurrence of bacteria is higher than other groups of microbes. The bacterial classes, such as Betaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and archaeal phylum, Thaumarchaeota, and Crenarchaeota were relatively higher than other communities. KEGG pathway analysis of three samples revealed that the number of genes associated with environmental information processing is higher in the Lalbag sample in comparison to Farakka barrage and Dhulian samples. The microbial community was categorized by functional classification using SEED analysis. Both COG and SEED analysis revealed that genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism are higher than other functional categories. The genus-level study confirms the higher occurrence of Pseudomonas, which corresponds to anthropogenic activities like mass bathing. The presence of bacterial genus Nitrospira and archaeal phylum Thaumarchaeota confirms a healthy nitrogen cycle in the environment. Moreover, the generated information would help in understanding the importance of microbial communities and their imperative function in maintaining the riverine ecosystem health.

中文翻译：

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使用宏基因组学方法探索恒河沉积物中的微生物组

恒河是印度的主要河流系统，为数百万家庭提供生态系统服务。然而，由于各种人为活动，这条河流正处于压力之下。河流沉积物中含有多种微生物，对河流健康有巨大影响。在本研究中，对从 Farakka 河段的恒河河采集的三个沉积物样本进行了微生物群落特征的宏基因组学方法。使用高通量下一代测序平台对沉积物样品进行测序。分类学分类研究表明，细菌的发生率高于其他微生物群。细菌类别，如 Betaproteobacteria、Deltaproteobacteria、Gammaproteobacteria 和古菌门、Thaumarchaeota 和 Crenarchaeota 相对高于其他群落。三个样本的 KEGG 通路分析显示，与 Farakka 拦河坝和 Dhulian 样本相比，Lalbag 样本中与环境信息处理相关的基因数量更高。使用 SEED 分析按功能分类对微生物群落进行分类。COG 和 SEED 分析均显示与碳水化合物代谢相关的基因高于其他功能类别。属水平的研究证实了假单胞菌的较高发生率，这与大规模沐浴等人为活动相对应。Nitrospira 细菌属和古菌门 Thaumarchaeota 的存在证实了环境中健康的氮循环。而且，