Characterization of bacterial diversity in rhizospheric soils, irrigation water, and lettuce crops in municipalities near the Bogotá river, Colombia

The use of wastewater in agricultural practices poses a potential risk for the spread of foodborne diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the bacterial biodiversity in rhizospheric soil, irrigation water, and lettuce crops in three municipalities adjacent to the Bogotá River, Colombia. Samples were collected in Mosquera, Funza, and Cota municipalities, including rhizospheric soil, lettuce leaves, and irrigation water. The total DNA extraction was performed to analyze bacterial diversity through high-throughput sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA genes, utilizing the Illumina HiSeq 2500 PE 300 sequencing platform. A total of 198 genera from the rhizospheric soil were detected including a higher abundance of zOTUs such as <i>Bacillus</i>, <i>Streptomyces</i>, and clinically relevant genera such as <i>Mycobacterium</i> and <i>Pseudomonas</i>. In lettuce, the detection of 26 genera of endophytic bacteria showed to Proteobacteria and Firmicutes as the predominant phyla, with <i>Staphylococcus</i> and <i>Bacillus</i> as the most abundant genera. Notably, Funza's crops exhibited the highest abundance of endophytes, approximately 50 %, compared to Cota (20 %). Furthermore, the most abundant bacterial genera in the irrigation water were <i>Flavobacterium</i> and <i>Pseudomonas</i>. The most prevalent Enterobacteriaceae were <i>Serratia, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Klebsiella, Yersinia, Shigella, Escherichia,</i> and <i>Erwinia</i>. The <i>Bacillus</i> genus was highly enriched in both rhizospheric soils and lettuce crops, indicating its significant contribution as the main endophytic bacterium.