A metagenomic insight into assessment of microbial diversity in the river Ganga at two locations for sustainable development

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) is a framework convention implemented by United Nations (UN) to achieve a progressive, safer and better earth for present as well as for future generations. Two SDGs that deals with water resources on earth are SDG-6 and SDG-14. SDG-6 deals with clean water and sanitation whereas SDG-14 deals with life below water. The water quality of aquatic ecosystem cannot be assessed without focusing on the microbial ecology present in it. The metagenomics reveals the microbial diversity present in a particular ecology and indicates its beneficial or harmful effect on the life inside the river ecosystem. Therefore, there is a need to identify the microorganisms present in the major aquatic ecosystems in India to analyze the water quality for sustainable aquatic health systems. The river Ganga being a major river ecosystem in India, we analyzed the microbial diversity in it by sampling at different locations for studying the water health. We have used Kaiju tool to investigate the microbial diversity present in the Ganga river at two major locations such as Kanpur and Farakka. The detailed analysis of the microbial diversity revealed a total of 14,875 bacterial, 5,578 archaeal, and 3,251 viral species present in the sediment samples collected at the identified locations of the Ganga river. The information generated under this study is expected to contribute as a small step for planners to help protect and improve the aquatic health system of the river Ganga as well as in achieving the SDGs by 2030.