London, Oct 16 (PTI) Street gutters are oases ofmicroscopic life - such as microalgae and fungi - that mayhelp clean rainwater and urban waste by decomposing soliddebris and pollutants, according to a study in France.
Scientists from the BOREA Biology of Aquatic Organismsand Ecosystems research unit in France and Max PlanckInstitute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Germany have shownthat Parisian street gutters are oases of microscopic life,home to microalgae, fungi, sponges, and mollusks.
Grouped into communities, these microorganisms may helpclean rainwater and urban waste by decomposing solid debrisand pollutants such as exhaust fumes and engine oil.
A deeper understanding of the role and composition ofthese communities could help elucidate the services renderedby gutter ecosystems, researchers said.
The findings, published in the ISME Journal, are thefirst to reveal the unsuspected biodiversity of microscopiclife in Paris city streets.
Scientists from the BOREA research unit first suspectedthe presence of microalgae in Paris streets after noting thecharacteristic green or brown colour of gutter water andobserving the presence of bubbles, which are the result ofphotosynthetic activity.
The researchers analysed different samples of non-potablewater from the Seine, the Ourcq Canal, curbside water outletsfor street cleaning, and street gutters to identify themicroorganisms they harboured.
The team identified 6,900 potential species of eukaryotesin the hundred or so samples of water and biofilms collectedfrom every district of Paris.
Diatomaceous microalgae make up a large part of thisbiodiversity. Other unicellular eukaryotes, fungi, sponges,and mollusks were also found.
Even more astonishingly, analyses revealed that nearly 70per cent of these species were not found in the non-potablewater sources.
The profiles of these microbiological communities varygreatly between sampling sites, suggesting their origin may beassociated with human activities or that the microorganismshave adapted to their specific urban environment.
Hence, street gutters and the microscopic life they hostappear to constitute a unique ecosystem with ecological rolesstill to be discovered, researchers said. PTI MHNMHN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.