Microbial Communities and Their Influencing Factors in the Sediment of Upper and Mid–Lower Reaches of the Yellow River

Yanmin Zhang; Zewei Gui; Xiaofei Gao; Jingxiao Zhang; Yunni Gao; Man Zhang; Guokun Yang; Xindang Zhang; Xulu Chang; Zixuan Gan; Xiaolin Meng; Xuejun Li; Hongchen Jiang

doi:10.1007/s12583-023-1964-6

Volume 37 Issue 1

Feb 2026

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Journal of Earth Science > 2026 > 37(1): 317-328.

Yanmin Zhang, Zewei Gui, Xiaofei Gao, Jingxiao Zhang, Yunni Gao, Man Zhang, Guokun Yang, Xindang Zhang, Xulu Chang, Zixuan Gan, Xiaolin Meng, Xuejun Li, Hongchen Jiang. Microbial Communities and Their Influencing Factors in the Sediment of Upper and Mid–Lower Reaches of the Yellow River. Journal of Earth Science, 2026, 37(1): 317-328. doi: 10.1007/s12583-023-1964-6

Citation:

Yanmin Zhang, Zewei Gui, Xiaofei Gao, Jingxiao Zhang, Yunni Gao, Man Zhang, Guokun Yang, Xindang Zhang, Xulu Chang, Zixuan Gan, Xiaolin Meng, Xuejun Li, Hongchen Jiang. Microbial Communities and Their Influencing Factors in the Sediment of Upper and Mid–Lower Reaches of the Yellow River. Journal of Earth Science, 2026, 37(1): 317-328. doi: 10.1007/s12583-023-1964-6

Citation:

Yanmin Zhang, Zewei Gui, Xiaofei Gao, Jingxiao Zhang, Yunni Gao, Man Zhang, Guokun Yang, Xindang Zhang, Xulu Chang, Zixuan Gan, Xiaolin Meng, Xuejun Li, Hongchen Jiang. Microbial Communities and Their Influencing Factors in the Sediment of Upper and Mid–Lower Reaches of the Yellow River. Journal of Earth Science, 2026, 37(1): 317-328. doi: 10.1007/s12583-023-1964-6

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Microbial Communities and Their Influencing Factors in the Sediment of Upper and Mid–Lower Reaches of the Yellow River

doi: 10.1007/s12583-023-1964-6

Yanmin Zhang^1
,,
Zewei Gui^1
,,
Xiaofei Gao^1
,,
Jingxiao Zhang^1
,,
Yunni Gao^1
,,
Man Zhang^1
,,
Guokun Yang^1
,,
Xindang Zhang^1
,,
Xulu Chang^1
,,
Zixuan Gan^2
,,
Xiaolin Meng^{1
,
,
,},
Xuejun Li^{1
,
,
,},
Hongchen Jiang^{3
,
,
,}

1.
College of Fisheries, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
2.
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis CA 95616-5270, USA
3.
School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China

More Information

Corresponding author: Xiaolin Meng, mengxiaolinqdio@126.com; Xuejun Li, xjli@htu.cn; Hongchen Jiang, jiangh@cug.edu.cn
Received Date: 20 Sep 2023
Accepted Date: 28 Dec 2023

Available Online: 13 Feb 2026

Issue Publish Date: 28 Feb 2026

Abstract

Abstract

Sedimentary microbial communities play an important role in driving biogeochemical cycles in river ecosystems. The Yellow River is one of the rivers with the highest turbidity over the world. However, limited is known about the microbial variation and its influencing factors in the Yellow River. In this study, we examined the microbial communities and their influencing factors in the sediment of Upper and Mid–Lower reaches of the Yellow River. The results showed that Gammaproteobacteria were most dominant (with Hydrogenophilaceae being the predominant family) in the studied Yellow River sediments. Phyla of Deltaproteobacteria, Nitrospirae and family of Bacillaceae, Geobaceraceae were more abundant in the Mid–Lower reaches than in the Upper reaches, while phyla of Gammaproteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and family of Caldilineaceae, Llumatobacteraceae were more abundant in the Upper reaches than in the Mid–Lower reaches. The microbial communities were predominantly affected by nutrient factors (such as NH₄⁺, TN and TP), followed by the spatial and the content of Chla in the Mid–Lower reaches, while they were by predominantly affected by spatial factors, followed by the nutrient factors and the content of Chla in the Upper reaches. The dominant microbial taxa were mostly correlated with COD, NH₄⁺, TP and temperature, but they responded differently to these physiochemical factors between the Upper and Mid–Lower reaches. In summary, the sedimentary microbial communities differ between the Upper and Mid–Lower reaches and respond differently to the environmental and spatial factors in the sediment of the Yellow River.
- microbial community,
- physiochemical and spatial parameters,
- sediment,
- the Yellow River

Electronic Supplementary Materials: Supplementary Materials (Figure S1–S4, Tables S1–S4) are available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-023-1964-6.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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