High-throughput molecular analyses of microbiomes as a tool to monitor the wellbeing of aquatic environments

Aquatic environments are the recipients of many sources of environmental stress that trigger both local and global changes. To evaluate the associated risks to organisms and ecosystems more sensitive and accurate strategies are required. The analysis of the microbiome is one of the most promising candidates for environmental diagnosis of aquatic systems. Culture-independent interconnected meta-omic approaches are being increasing used to fill the gaps that classical microbial approaches cannot resolve. Here, we provide a prospective view of the increasing application of these high-throughput molecular technologies to evaluate the structure and functional activity of microbial communities in response to changes and disturbances in the environment, mostly of anthropogenic origin. Some relevant topics are reviewed, such as: (i) the use of microorganisms for water quality assessment, highlighting the incidence of antimicrobial resistance as an increasingly serious threat to global public health; (ii) the crucial role of microorganisms and their complex relationships with the ongoing climate change, and other stress threats; (iii) the responses of the environmental microbiome to extreme pollution conditions, such as acid mine drainage or oil spills. Moreover, protists and viruses, due to their huge impacts on the structure of microbial communities, are emerging candidates for the assessment of aquatic environmental health.