Heat-tolerant network hub species make freshwater microbial communities resilient to climate warming

Aquatic ecosystems are facing severe threats from climate change, with rising temperatures as a major driving force posing a significant challenge to their ecological balance. Microorganisms constitute the majority of biomass in the water ecosystems and mediate the flux of carbon, nitrogen, sulfate and other essential nutrients. Climate warming profoundly influences microbial communities by shaping their distribution and ecological roles in the ecosystem, and in turn microorganisms play a significant role in climate feedback. The Yellow River, China’s second-longest river, is crucial for agricultural irrigation and provides drinking water for millions, yet little is known about microbial community adaptations under future warming scenarios in the system. In this study, we analyzed a publicly available metagenomic dataset from Yellow River water samples that were previously subjected to temperature treatments of 23, 26, 29, 32, and 35 degrees Celsius. We employed metagenomic analysis to identify how gradually increasing temperatures affected microbial community profiles. The study identified 140 species tolerant to high temperatures, showing a significant increase in abundance with elevated temperatures. The elevated temperature stress impacted the network properties of microbial communities substantially. Certain temperature-tolerant species were identified as hubs in the network across five temperatures, with their number increasing with temperature. Deltaproteobacteria bacterium was present at all five temperatures, while Parcubacteria bacterium, Parvularcula sp ., Phenylobacterium sp ., Phycisphaeraceae bacterium , and Sphingobium xenophagum were only present at high temperatures of 32 °C and 35 °C. The percentage of taxa nodes connected to tolerant hubs in the overall network rose from 57.48% to 95.94%, indicating the growing importance of these tolerant hubs. The positive connections among these tolerant hubs also increased, with the number of positive edges rising from 1166 to 2811, indicating a potential collaborative relationship among these taxa in response to temperature stress. These findings suggest that tolerant hubs may initially respond to temperature stress and subsequently transfer this function to other species through cooperative interactions. Understanding these microbial dynamics is crucial for developing strategies to maintain freshwater ecosystem health amid climate change.