Fe- and S-Metabolizing Microbial Communities Dominate an AMD-Contaminated River Ecosystem and Play Important Roles in Fe and S Cycling |
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Authors: | Yanping Bao Chuling Guo Han Wang Guining Lu Chengfang Yang Meiqin Chen |
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Institution: | 1. School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China;2. The Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China;3. School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, China |
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Abstract: | Indigenous Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria play important roles both in the formation and the natural attenuation of acid mine drainage (AMD). Due to its low pH and Fe-S-rich waters, a river located in the Dabaoshan Mine area provides an ideal opportunity to study indigenous Fe- and S-metabolizing microbial communities and their roles in biogeochemical Fe and S cycling. In this work, water and sediment samples were collected from the river for physicochemical, mineralogical, and microbiological analyses. Illumina MiSeq sequencing indicated higher species richness in the sediment than in the water. Sequencing also found that Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria were the dominant microorganisms in the heavily and moderately contaminated areas. Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria found in the water were aerobes or facultative anaerobes, including Acidithiobacillus, Acidiphilium, Thiomonas, Gallionella, and Leptospirillum. Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria found in the sediment belong to microaerobes, facultative anaerobes, or obligatory anaerobes, including Acidithiobacillus, Sulfobacillus, Thiomonas, Gallionella, Geobacter, Geothrix, and Clostridium. Among the dominant genera in the sediment, Geobacter and Geothrix were rarely detected in AMD-contaminated natural environments. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that pH, S, and Fe concentration gradients were the most important factors in structuring the river microbial community. Moreover, a scheme explaining the biogeochemical Fe and S cycling is advanced in light of the Fe and S species distribution and the identified Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria. |
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Keywords: | Acid mine drainage Fe and S cycling Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria microbial community |
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