Microbial community potentially responsible for acid and metal release from an Ostrobothnian acid sulfate soil.

ABSTRACT: Soils containing an approximately equal mixture of metastable iron sulfides and pyrite occur in the boreal Ostrobothnian coastal region of Finland, termed 'potential acid sulfate soil materials'. If the iron sulfides are exposed to air, oxidation reactions result in acid and metal release to the environment that can cause severe damage. Despite that acidophilic microorganisms catalyze acid and metal release from sulfide minerals, the microbiology of acid sulfate soil (ASS) materials has been neglected. The molecular phylogeny of a depth profile through the plough and oxidized ASS layers identified several known acidophilic microorganisms and environmental clones previously identified from acid- and metal-contaminated environments. In addition, several of the 16S rRNA gene sequences were mo

SUBMITTER: Wu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3732381 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature