Long-term mercury contamination does not affect the microbial gene potential for C and N cycling in soils but enhances detoxification gene abundance.

ABSTRACT: Soil microorganisms are key transformers of mercury (Hg), a toxic and widespread pollutant. It remains uncertain, however, how long-term exposure to Hg affects crucial microbial functions, such as litter decomposition and nitrogen cycling. Here, we used a metagenomic approach to investigate the state of soil functions in an agricultural floodplain contaminated with Hg for more than 80 years. We sampled soils along a gradient of Hg contamination (high, moderate, low). Hg concentrations at the highly contaminated site (36 mg kg^-1 dry soil on average) were approximately 10 times higher than at the moderately contaminated site (3 mg kg^-1 dry soil) and more than 100 times higher than at the site with low contamination (0.25 mg kg^-1 dry soil; corresponding to the

SUBMITTER: Frey B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9581213 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature