Microbial diversity and community assembly in heavy metal-contaminated soils: insights from selenium-impacted mining areas.

ABSTRACT: The mining industry in China plays a pivotal role in economic development but also leads to severe environmental issues, particularly heavy metal pollution in soils. Heavy metal pollution significantly impacts soil microbial communities due to its persistence and long-term residual effects. We assessed changes in microbial diversity, community structure, and assembly mechanisms in selenium-impacted soils. This study investigates the impacts of selenium (Se) and other heavy metals on soil microbial communities in selenium-rich mining areas using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Our results showed that Se and other heavy metal contamination significantly altered microbial community composition, favoring metal-tolerant phyla such as Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota and Firmicutes, while

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12034704 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature