Comparison of the community structure of planktonic bacteria in ballast water from entry ships and local sea water in Xiamen Port

In this study, the bacterial community structures in samples of ballast water collected from a ship from Singapore and of local sea water collected from Xiamen Port were compared using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Except for dominant α-Proteobacteria that are common to both systems, the bacterial community structures of the two systems were quite different. Most of the clones derived from the different systems were grouped into different phylogenetic clusters, and the systems share only one common RFLP pattern. The ballast water, which is likely from clean offshore waters, contains sequences specific to α- and γ-Proteobacteria. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the ballast water contained sequences belonging to attached bacteria and bacteria commonly found in the open sea, as well as many novel sequences. In addition, no known pathogenic bacteria were detected in the ballast water samples. Conversely, water samples from Xiamen Port were apparently affected by the near shore environments. Specifically, in addition to α- and γ-Proteobacteria, water from Xiamen Port contained β- and δ-Proteobacteria, Synechococcus, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria, which are common in coastal environments. Additionally, four pathogenic bacterial sequences and one plasmid sequence of a potential red tide forming alga were detected in the water from Xiamen Port, which suggests that the local sea water is polluted. The results of this study can be used as background information to assess the risk associated with the introduction of non-indigenous species to local systems and to establish ballast water management systems.