矿山废水中微生物生态多样性研究

从湖北铜绿山铜矿和山西中条山铜矿两地采集了矿山废水样品, 用RFLP方法(限制性片段长度多态性方法)分析不同矿山废水中微生物多样性及其群落结构组成变化。结果发现：通过16S rDNA基因序列的系统发育树分析, 在5个矿山废水样品中检测到的细菌主要分为4大类：即Proteobacteria纲、Nitrospira纲、Firmicutes纲和Bacteroidetes纲。通过对古菌16S rDNA 的PCR分析发现, 取自湖北铜绿山铜矿的样品中检测到古菌的存在, 而取自山西中条山铜矿的样品中没有检测到古菌的存在。检测到的古菌主要是属于Ferroplasma属和Thermoplasma属。结合5个矿山废水样品的化学元素分析结果和细菌群落结构数据, 进行PCA分析(主成分分析), 发现不同矿山废水样品的生物地球化学性质及其微生物组成存在很大差异, pH值、温度、不同浓度的元素如S、Cu、Ni和Co可能是形成细菌种群结构差异的关键因素。     

甘肃白银铜矿矿坑土壤细菌和古菌的多样性及坡度分布特征

【背景】甘肃白银铜矿作为西部地区的重要矿区，探究其细菌和古菌多样性及坡度分布特征对明确矿区微生物多样性分布具有关键意义。【目的】通过分析白银铜矿矿坑不同坡度的土壤细菌群落多样性和古菌群落多样性，探究不同坡度土壤样品细菌及古菌多样性与理化性质之间的关系。【方法】以不同坡度的白银铜矿土样为材料，采用Illumina HiSeq测序技术，分析样品的细菌多样性和古菌多样性。【结果】α和β多样性分析表明，ACE、Chao1、Shannon和Simpson等多样性指数在样品间存在显著差异。白银铜矿矿坑土壤的细菌排名前十的纲是Gammaproteobacteria、Oxyphotobacteria、Alphaproteobacteria、Bacteroidia、Actinobacteria、Clostridia、Nitrospira、Bacilli、Mollicutes和Acidimicrobiia，相对丰度最高的是Gammaproteobacteria。在纲水平上，白银铜矿的古菌由Thermoplasmata、Nitrososphaeria、Methanomicrobia、Halobacteria、Methanobacteria、Group_1.1c和Bathyarchaeia组成，相对丰度最高的是Thermoplasmata。冗余分析(redundancy analysis,RDA)得出，pH和速效磷是影响土壤多样性的最重要因素。【结论】白银铜矿为强酸性铜矿，其土壤铜离子含量最高。从坡顶到坡底，pH呈现先降低再升高的趋势(2.18-4.75)，铜离子(20-150mg/kg)和总铁(2.5-50mg/kg)呈现先升高后降低的趋势，铵态氮(3.61-44.90mg/kg)、速效磷(0-56.79mg/kg)和速效钾(9.07-35.65mg/kg)含量低且呈现波动趋势，硫化物(1mg/kg)无明显变化。白银铜矿矿坑土壤细菌相对丰度最高的属为Acidithiobacillus，古菌相对丰度较高的属为uncultured_bacterium_f_Ferroplasmaceae和uncultured_bacterium_f_Nitrososphaeraceae。其中，细菌多样性受到pH驱动，古菌多样性受到速效磷的驱动。本研究有助于我们进一步了解白银铜矿土壤微生物群落的变化。     

紫金山铜矿酸性矿山废水微生物群落多样性

【背景】为避免环境污染,酸性矿山废水需经处理后才能排放,处理后的废水理化性质会发生显著变化,将影响整个微生物群落的结构。【目的】分析处理前后的细菌和真菌群落变化及其与理化参数的关系,为矿山废水的处理提供参考指标,并为矿山污染场地的修复提供理论基础。【方法】采集福建紫金山铜矿的酸性矿山废水并测定其理化性质。采用基于原核微生物16S rRNA基因V4区和真菌18S rRNA基因ITS的高通量测序技术分析水样的微生物群落结构。【结果】经中和处理后的回水与矿坑水和生物浸出液相比,pH升高,重金属离子含量显著降低。原核微生物的多样性高于真菌,回水的物种多样性高于矿坑水和浸出液。回水中变形菌门的丰度最高,矿坑水和浸出液中分别以广古菌门和硝化螺菌门的丰度最高。回水中噬氢菌属为优势类群,矿坑水和浸出液中的优势菌是钩端螺旋菌属,铁质菌属等古菌也有一定的比例。pH、Al、Mn、Zn与回水中相对丰度较高的菌属显著相关,而矿坑水和浸出液中的高丰度类群与环境因子没有显著的相关性。【结论】研究表明酸性废水的中和沉淀处理对微生物群落产生了较大的影响,微生物群落变化可以作为矿山酸性废水污染处理效果的一个参考指标。     

甘肃不同矿区样品中的细菌多样性

甘肃矿产资源丰富,矿区酸性矿坑水(acid mine drainage,AMD)及周边土壤中嗜酸微生物种类丰富,具有相当大的研究价值.本研究通过Illumina高通量测序方法,对甘肃省4个矿区AMD及周边土壤中的细菌群落组成、相似性及功能组成进行分析.结果 表明,煤矿样品GNM细菌物种组成最为丰富,金矿样品LNJ1与紫金矿样品LNZJK细菌组成最相似,与属于铜矿的BYT物种较相近,与LNJ1同地区的LNJ2样品细菌组成相比较远.所有样品细菌主要分为放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacteriodetes)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)和变形菌门(Proteobacteria)四大门,其中变形菌门(Proteobacteria)丰度最高.放线菌门(Actinobacteria)中不动杆菌属(Acinetobacter)、类诺卡氏属(Nocardioides)和芽球菌属(Blastococcus)表现出较高丰度;厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)中微小杆菌属(Exiguobacterium)和芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)表现出较高丰度,且微小杆菌属(Exiguobacterium)丰度极高.通过功能预测发现,与煤矿样品GNM相比,LNJ1、LNJ2、BYT和LNZJK4个金属矿区样品中的微生物具有较强的氨基酸与碳源的转运与代谢、转录等功能以及较低的能量生产与转运、无机离子转运与代谢能力.通过探究AMD中的细菌多样性及其与重金属之间的相互关系,了解AMD采样区微生物群落结构,以期挖掘出更为丰富的具有重金属抗性的菌株资源,以应用于生物浸矿和环境修复等领域.     

一种浸矿混合菌种的筛选、鉴定及浸矿的研究

旨在从某低品位硫化铜矿酸性矿坑水中分离获得浸矿效果优良的细菌,同时对细菌的浸矿行为进行初步的研究。采集福建某低品位硫化铜矿酸性矿坑水样品,9K培养基富集获得混合菌种FIM-201304。利用9K固体平板,从混合菌FIM-201304中分离获得优势浸矿菌D-1。应用高通量Illumina Miseq测序技术分析混合菌FIM-201304的群落结构。通过表型特征和16S rRNA基因序列分析鉴定菌株D-1。采用摇瓶培养对比研究混合菌和单菌对低品位硫化铜矿和低品位硫化镍矿的浸出效果。结果显示,高通量测序技术分析结果表明,混合菌FIM-201304的优势菌是嗜酸氧化亚铁硫杆菌(Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans,A.f errooxidans)(丰度占比85.02%)、铜绿色假单胞菌(Pseudomonas sp.)(丰度占比10.07%)、嗜酸异养菌(Acidiphilium acidophilum,A.acidophilum)(丰度占比1.30%)和鞘氨醇单胞菌(Sphingomonas sp.)(丰度占比1.21%)。表型特征和16S r RNA基因序列分析确定菌株D-1属于氧化亚铁硫杆菌。摇瓶实验结果表明,浸出反应20 d后,接种混合菌的浸出体系中铜、镍浸出率分别为65%和56%,相同条件下,接种单菌的浸出体系中铜、镍的浸出率为41%和36%,接种混合菌的浸出体系比接种单菌的浸出体系中铜、镍浸出率分别提高了24%和20%。混合菌对矿石的浸出效果显著优于单菌。异养菌促进了自养菌对矿石中金属元素的浸出。     

一株分离于酸性矿坑水的异养菌的特性与分子鉴定

采用平板划线分离法,从江西某铜矿酸性矿坑水中分离出一株极端嗜酸、又能耐受中度碱性条件的异养微生物,命名为HJM菌株。该菌株能在pH1.5~10.0的范围内生长。形态学以及18SrDNA和26S rDNAD1/D2区序列分析表明,HJM菌株属于P.guilliermondii这个种。金属抗性试验表明,该菌株对重金属铜离子的抗性可高达45mmol/L,因此,它的分离为研究极端环境中微生物的抗铜机制提供了材料。     

巴丹吉林沙漠盐湖微生物多样性

【目的】研究内蒙古巴丹吉林沙漠碱性盐湖中的原核生物多样性及其与环境因子之间的关系。【方法】利用分子生物学方法构建16S rRNA基因克隆文库,对盐湖中的嗜盐碱微生物进行系统发育分析;利用R语言绘图,对不同盐湖的微生物群落结构进行对比研究。【结果】该区域盐湖含盐量很高,矿化度达165g/L-397 g/L。同时,水体呈强碱性,p H均在10以上。三个湖的盐度和p H值等理化参数有梯度变化,因此微生物多样性和群落结构存在明显差异。整体而言,细菌的多样性大于古菌。样品中含有的主要的细菌门类为γ-变形菌亚门(Gammaproteobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)、α-变形菌亚门(Alphaproteobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia),古菌则全部属于广古菌门(Euryarchaeota)中的盐杆菌科(Halobacteriaceae)。【结论】盐度是决定细菌群落结构的主要因素,古菌群落结构则由多种环境因素综合影响。一些已知的嗜盐碱菌,如Roseinatronobacter spp.、Halohasta spp.等,可以生活在比其盐度和碱度生长范围更高的极端盐碱环境中。此外,样品中还含有大量未培养的嗜盐碱细菌和古菌,对进一步开发极端盐碱环境中的微生物资源有重要意义。     

极端嗜盐古菌蛋白类抗生素——嗜盐菌素

古菌(Archaea)是一类与细菌及真核生物显著不同的生命的第三种形式[1],大多生活在极端或特殊环境,主要包括产甲烷古菌(Methanogenic Achaea)、极端嗜盐古菌(Extremely Halophilic Archaea)和极端嗜热古菌(Extremely Thermophilic Archaea)等三大类.极端古菌是极端环境微生物的重要成员,也是极端环境微生物资源开发的重要领域.其中,嗜盐古菌可产生一类蛋白类抗生素,称为嗜盐菌素(halocin).     

德兴铜矿酸性矿坑水水样与底泥中微生物群落多样性及其群落结构变化

江西铜业集团德兴铜矿是中国最大的露天开采铜矿,已有1000多年的开采历史,因此它为极端环境下微生物群落结构研究提供了一个优良素材。应用16S rRNA基因的PER克隆技术检测了来源于该铜矿3个不同样地的水样与底泥中的微生物多样性。通过RFLP分析获得40个OTUs,测序和系统发育分析表明它们属于7个不同的系统发育分区,即Acidobacteria,Actinobacteria,Nitrospira,α-Proteobacteria和γ-Proteobacteria,Firmicutes,δ-Proteobacteria。这些克隆中的大部分属于γ-Proteobacteria,α-Proteobacteria和Nitrospira。进一步的分析结果表明在各样点水样中的嗜酸氧化亚铁硫杆菌（Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans）所占比例大于其在底泥中的比例,而底泥的嗜酸菌属（Acidiphilium）所占比例明显高于水样,这可能与底泥的缺氧环境和Acidiphilium菌能够将三价铁还原成二价铁的特性有关。     

海洋古菌多样性研究进展

海洋古菌是海洋微生物中的一个大的类群,然而绝大多数的古菌不能分离培养.近年来分子生物学的方法广泛地应用于微生物多样性的研究中,研究发现,海洋古菌广泛地生活在各类海域环境中,而不仅仅是生活在极端的环境中.海洋古菌为海洋生态系统中主要的原核细胞成分,在海洋生态系统中的物质与能量循环中扮演着重要角色.主要阐述了生活在海洋不同环境中海洋古菌的多样性,有海洋浮游古菌的多样性、海底环境及海洋沉积物中古菌的多样性、附着或寄共生古菌多样性等的研究状况,以及研究海洋古菌多样性的分子生物学的主要方法.     

Microbial populations in acid mineral bioleaching systems of Tong Shankou Copper Mine, China

AIMS: To understand the composition and structure of microbial communities in different acid mineral bioleaching systems, and to present a more complete picture of microbially mediated acid mine drainage production. METHODS AND RESULTS: In Tong Shankou Copper Mine, China, two samples (named K1 and K2) from two different sites with bioleaching were studied. A bacterial 16S rDNA library and an archaeal 16S rDNA library of the sample from each site were constructed by 16S rDNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequencing. A total of 18 bacterial representative sequences and 12 archaeal representative sequences were obtained. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that 77.09% of the total bacterial clones were affiliated with Proteobacteria, and 21.22% of the total bacterial clones were closely related to Nitrospira. The rest of the bacterial clones were related to Firmicutes (1.68%). Sequences affiliated with the archaea of the Thermoplasma and Ferroplasma lineages were detected abundantly in the two samples. Unexpectedly, sequences affiliated with Sulfolobales and Methanothermus genera were also detected. CONCLUSIONS: The molecular studies appear to be consistent with the environmental conditions existing at the sites, which coincides with previous studies. High concentrations of some elements (such as copper, iron and sulfur) seemed to be the key factors resulting in the diverse distribution of typical iron-oxidizing bacteria such as Leptospirillum species and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Research on micro-organisms present in bioleaching systems especially archaea is not abundant. The acidophiles in the two bioleaching sites obtained from Tong Shankou Copper Mine, China, have not been reported until now. These results may expand our knowledge of the microbial diversity in the acid mineral bioleaching systems.     

Culturable and molecular phylogenetic diversity of microorganisms in an open-dumped,extremely acidic Pb/Zn mine tailings

A combination of cultivation-based and molecular-based approaches was used to reveal the culturable and molecular diversity of the microbes inhabiting an open-dumped Pb/Zn mine tailings that was undergoing intensive acid generation (pH 1.9). Culturable bacteria found in the extremely acidic mine tailings were Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Sulfobacillus thermotolerans and Acidiphilium cryptum, where the number of acidophilic heterotrophs was ten times higher than that of the iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Cloning and phylogenetic analysis revealed that, in contrast to the adjacent AMD, the mine tailings possessed a low microbial diversity with archaeal sequence types dominating the 16S rRNA gene library. Of the 141 clones examined, 132 were represented by two sequence types phylogenetically affiliated with the iron-oxidizing archaea Ferroplasma acidiphilum and three belonged to two tentative groups within the Thermoplasma lineage so far represented by only a few environmental sequences. Six clones in the library were represented by the only bacterial sequence type and were closely related to the well-described iron-oxidizer L. ferriphilum. The significant differences in the prokaryotic community structures of the extremely acidic mine tailings and the AMD associated with it highlights the importance of studying the microbial communities that are more directly involved in the iron and sulfur cycles of mine tailings.     

昆明盐矿古老岩盐沉积中的原核生物多样性

应用PCR-DGGE和rRNA分析法研究了昆明盐矿古老岩盐沉积中的原核生物多样性。样品的细菌DGGE分析得到27条带,古菌得到18条带。样品与纯培养得到的19个属菌株的DGGE图谱对比分析发现,细菌18个属菌株,只有1个属菌株与样品中的1条带迁移位置都不一致;古菌1个属的菌株不与样品中任何条带迁移位置一致。表明纯培养所得菌株并非该环境中的优势类群。同时,建立了样品细菌和古菌的16S rDNA克隆文库,从中分别挑取36个细菌克隆和20个古菌克隆进行ARDRA分析。细菌可分为10个OTUs,其中3个OTUs是优势类群,分别占38.9%,25.0%,16.7%,其余7个OTUs各含有1个克隆。古菌分为8个OTUs,没有明显的优势类群。每个OTU的代表克隆16S rDNA序列分析表明,细菌分属3大类群:α-Proteobacteria,γ-Proteobacteria和Actinobacteria,以Pseudomonas属菌为优势,含有其它岩盐沉积中没有发现的Actinobacteria。古菌主要是Halorubrum属、Haloterrigena属菌和未培养古菌。本研究表明,昆明盐矿古老岩盐沉积具有较丰富的原核生物多样性,含有大量未知的、未培养或不可培养的原核生物,但在原核生物物种组成和丰度上,免培养与此前的纯培养研究结果存在一定差异。因此,结合使用两类方法才能较全面地认识高盐极端环境微生物的多样性。     

Diversity of symbiotic archaeal communities in marine sponges from Korea

A molecular analysis of archaeal communities in eight sponges collected along the coast of Cheju Island, Korea was conducted using terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) in conjunction with sequencing analysis of 16S rDNA clones. The terminal-restriction fragment (T-RF) profiles showed that each sponge had a simple archaeal community represented by a single major peak of the same size except for one unidentified sponge (01CJ20). In order to identify the components of the community, 170 archaeal 16S rDNA clones were recovered from sponges and analyzed by RFLP typing. Sequences of 19 representative clones for all RFLP types found in each sponge were determined and phylogenetic analysis was carried out. Seventeen of these archaeal 16S rDNA clones showed a high similarity to marine group I, belonging to the crenarchaeotes. In the phylogenetic tree, 15 archaeal clones were grouped into five sponge-associated archaeal clusters. In the unidentified sponge sample (01CJ20), one major T-RF peak was represented by a single RFLP type (40 clones), which implied a specific relationship between the sponge and its symbiotic archaeal components.     

Molecular phylogenetic diversity of the microbial community associated with a high-temperature petroleum reservoir at an offshore oilfield

The microbial community and its diversity in production water from a high-temperature, water-flooded petroleum reservoir of an offshore oilfield in China were characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed from the community DNA and, using sequence analysis, 388 bacterial and 220 archaeal randomly selected clones were clustered with 60 and 28 phylotypes, respectively. The results showed that the 16S rRNA genes of bacterial clones belonged to the divisions Firmicutes, Thermotogae, Nitrospirae and Proteobacteria, whereas the archaeal library was dominated by methanogen-like rRNA genes (Methanothermobacter, Methanobacter, Methanobrevibacter and Methanococcus), with a lower percentage of clones belonging to Thermoprotei. Thermophilic microorganisms were found in the production water, as well as mesophilic microorganisms such as Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter-like clones. The thermophilic microorganisms may be common inhabitants of geothermally heated specialized subsurface environments, which have been isolated previously from a number of high-temperature petroleum reservoirs worldwide. The mesophilic microorganisms were probably introduced into the reservoir as it was being exploited. The results of this work provide further insight into the composition of microbial communities of high-temperature petroleum reservoirs at offshore oilfields.     

Phylogenetic Diversity of Archaea and Bacteria in a Deep Subsurface Paleosol

Abstract A low-biomass paleosol 188 m below the ground surface at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site in south-central Washington State was recovered and maintained at the in situ temperature (17°C) as an intact core or homogenized sediment for 0, 1, 3, 10, and 21 weeks post-sampling. Bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes were amplified by PCR and cloned. Of 746 bacterial and 190 archaeal clones that were categorized by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), 242 bacterial and 16 archaeal clones were partially sequenced and compared against the small subunit ribosomal RNA database (RDP) and GenBank. Six bacterial and 16 archaeal clones sequences, with little similarity to those in public databases, were sequenced in their entirety, and subjected to more detained phylogenetic analysis. The most frequently occurring clones types were related to Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Micrococcus, Clavibacter, Nocardioides, Burkholderia, Comamonas, and Erythromicrobium. Clone sequences whose RDP similarity value was ≥0.6 consistently grouped with their nearest RDP neighbor during phylogenetic analysis. Six truly novel eubacterial sequences were identified; they consistently cluster with or near the Chloroflexaceae and sequences recovered from the Sargasso Sea. Sixteen unique archaeal RFLP groups were identified from 190 randomly-sampled clones. The novel archaeal rDNA clones formed a coherent clade along the major Crenarchaea branch containing all previously described mesophilic crenarchae clones, but remained firmly associated with 16S rDNA clones previously obtained from a thermal Fe/S spring in Yellowstone National Park. The wealth of group-specific genetic information identified during this study will now allow us to address specific hypotheses related to in situ stimulation of these deep subsurface microorganisms and changes in microbial community composition resulting from subsurface contamination or remediation processes at the Hanford Site. Revised: 21 October 1997; Accepted: 20 November 1997     

Comparison and Characterization of Microbial Communities in Sulfide-rich Wastewater with and without Propidium Monoazide Treatment

A 16S rRNA gene-based culture-independent approach was used to study the bacterial and archaeal communities in a sulfide-rich wastewater. Propidium Monoazide (PMA) treatment was applied to limit the analysis to the fraction of viable cells in environment. A total of 104 and 68 clones respective from bacterial clone library and archaeal library were picked and analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). 35 RFLP patterns from bacterial clone library and 10 RFLP patterns from archaeal clone library were unique and the respective clones were selected for sequencing. BLAST analysis and RFLP analysis showed that the bacterial clone library mainly consisted of Gammaproteobacteria (73%), Anaerolineae (6%), Bacilli (5%), Deltaproteobacteria (7%), Clostridia (4%), Bacteroidetes (1%), and Chlorobia (1%); Methanomicrobia (99%) and Thermococci (1%) were the only two lineages of the archaeal domains. This study gave a first insight into the overall microbial structure in a cloth printing and dyeing wastewater treatment plant with high concentration of sulfide and increased knowledge on the applicability of the PMA treatment in combination with PCR-based molecular techniques to analyze only viable cells in microbial ecology.     

Molecular community analysis of magnesium-rich bittern brine recovered from a Tunisian solar saltern

The microbial community of a magnesium-rich bittern brine saturated with NaCl (380-400 g/L) from a Tunisian solar saltern was investigated using a molecular approach based on 16S rRNA gene analysis and viability tests. The results revealed the existence of microbial flora. Viability test assessment showed that 46.4% of this flora was viable but not detectable by culturability tests. 16S rRNA genes from 49 bacterial clones and 38 archaeal clones were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. Eleven operational taxonomic units (OTUs) determined by the DOTUR program with 97% sequence similarity were generated for Bacteria. These OTUs were affiliated with Bacteroidetes and Gammaproteobacteria. The archaeal community composition exhibited more diversity with 38 clones, resulting in 13 OTUs affiliated with the Euryarchaeota phylum. Diversity measurement showed a more diverse archaeal than bacterial community at the saturated pond.     

Diversity and structure of the archaeal community in the leachate of a full-scale recirculating landfill as examined by direct 16S rRNA gene sequence retrieval

The diversity and structure of the archaeal community in the effluent leachate from a full-scale recirculating landfill was characterized by direct 16S rRNA gene (16S rDNA) retrieval. Total-community DNA was extracted from the microbial assemblages in the landfill leachate, and archaeal 16S rDNAs were amplified with a universally conserved primer and an Archaea-specific primer. The amplification product was then used to construct a 16S rDNA clone library, and 70 randomly selected archaeal clones in the library were grouped by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of representatives from each unique RFLP type showed that the archaeal library was dominated by methanogen-like rDNAs. Represented in the kingdom of Euryarchaeota were phylotypes highly similar to the methanogenic genera Methanoculleus, Methanosarcina, Methanocorpusculum, Methanospirillum and Methanogenium, where the clone distribution was 48, 11, 3, 1 and 1, respectively. No sequences related to known Methanosaeta spp. were retrieved. Four rDNA clones were not affiliated with the known methanogenic Archaea, but instead, they were clustered with the uncultured archaeal sequences recently recovered from anaerobic habitats. Two chimeric sequences were identified among the clones analyzed.     

Seasonal variations in microbial populations and environmental conditions in an extreme acid mine drainage environment.

Microbial populations, their distributions, and their aquatic environments were studied over a year (1997) at an acid mine drainage (AMD) site at Iron Mountain, Calif. Populations were quantified by fluorescence in situ hybridizations with group-specific probes. Probes were used for the domains Eucarya, Bacteria, and Archaea and the two species most widely studied and implicated for their role in AMD production, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans. Results show that microbial populations, in relative proportions and absolute numbers, vary spatially and seasonally and correlate with geochemical and physical conditions (pH, temperature, conductivity, and rainfall). Bacterial populations were in the highest proportion (>95%) in January. Conversely, archaeal populations were in the highest proportion in July and September ( approximately 50%) and were virtually absent in the winter. Bacterial and archaeal populations correlated with conductivity and rainfall. High concentrations of dissolved solids, as reflected by high conductivity values (up to 125 mS/cm), occurred in the summer and correlated with high archaeal populations and proportionally lower bacterial populations. Eukaryotes were not detected in January, when total microbial cell numbers were lowest (<10(5) cells/ml), but eukaryotes increased at low-pH sites ( approximately 0.5) during the remainder of the year. This correlated with decreasing water temperatures (50 to 30 degrees C; January to November) and increasing numbers of prokaryotes (10(8) to 10(9) cells/ml). T. ferrooxidans was in highest abundance (>30%) at moderate pHs and temperatures ( approximately 2.5 and 20 degrees C) in sites that were peripheral to primary acid-generating sites and lowest (0 to 5%) at low-pH sites (pH approximately 0.5) that were in contact with the ore body. L. ferrooxidans was more widely distributed with respect to geochemical conditions (pH = 0 to 3; 20 to 50 degrees C) but was more abundant at higher temperatures and lower pHs ( approximately 40 degrees C; pH approximately 0.5) than T. ferrooxidans.