We are currently collaborating with the University of the Basque Country (Dr. Estilita Ruiz-Romera and Dr. Miren Martínez-Santos) in the assessment of the impact of anthropogenic contamination from untreated and treated residual and industrial wastewaters on the structure and function of bacterial communities present in river sediments. To this purpose, we are combining functional information (RT-qPCR) on denitrification genes (nirS, nirK, nosZ) with structural data obtained from 16S rRNA metabarcoding. We have recently identified some interesting interactions between the nitrogen (autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification) and sulphur cycles, with consequences for the emission of greenhouse gases (i.e., N2O).
