Legacy copper/nickel mine tailings potentially harbor novel iron/sulfur cycling microorganisms within highly variable communities.

ABSTRACT: The oxidation of sulfide-bearing mine tailings catalyzed by acidophilic iron and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria releases toxic metals and other contaminants into soil and groundwater as acid mine drainage. Understanding the environmental variables that control the community structure and metabolic activity of microbes indigenous to tailings (especially the abiotic stressors of low pH and high dissolved metal content) is crucial to developing sustainable bioremediation strategies. We determined the microbial community composition along two continuous vertical gradients of Cu/Ni mine tailings at each of two tailings impoundments near Sudbury, Ontario. 16S rRNA amplicon data showed high variability in community diversity and composition between locations, as well as at different depths within each

SUBMITTER: Chen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11218620 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature