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Cardona GI, Escobar MC, Acosta-González A, Díaz-Ruíz N, Niño-García JP, Vasquez Y, Marrugo-Negrete J, Marqués S. Microbial diversity and abundance of Hg related genes from water, sediment and soil the Colombian amazon ecosystems impacted by artisanal and small-scale gold mining. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 352:141348. [PMID: 38340998 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
The Amazon region abounds in precious mineral resources including gold, copper, iron, and coltan. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) poses a severe risk in this area due to considerable mercury release into the surrounding ecosystems. Nonetheless, the impact of mercury on both the overall microbiota and the microbial populations involved in mercury transformation is not well understood. In this study we evaluated microbial diversity in samples of soil, sediment and water potentially associated with mercury contamination in two localities (Taraira and Tarapacá) in the Colombian Amazon Forest. To this end, we characterized the bacterial community structure and mercury-related functions in samples from sites with a chronic history of mercury contamination which today have different levels of total mercury content. We also determined mercury bioavailability and mobility in the samples with the highest THg and MeHg levels (up to 43.34 and 0.049 mg kg-1, respectively, in Taraira). Our analysis of mercury speciation showed that the immobile form of mercury predominated in soils and sediments, probably rendering it unavailable to microorganisms. Despite its long-term presence, mercury did not appear to alter the microbial community structure or composition, which was primarily shaped by environmental and physicochemical factors. However, an increase in the relative abundance of merA genes was detected in polluted sediments from Taraira. Several Hg-responsive taxa in soil and sediments were detected in sites with high levels of THg, including members of the Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Chloroflexi phyla. The results suggest that mercury contamination at the two locations sampled may select mercury-adapted bacteria carrying the merA gene that could be used in bioremediation processes for the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gladys Inés Cardona
- Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI. Laboratorio de Biotecnología y Recursos Genéticos, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Maria Camila Escobar
- Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI. Laboratorio de Biotecnología y Recursos Genéticos, Bogotá, Colombia; Escuela de Microbiología. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | | | - Natalie Díaz-Ruíz
- Escuela de Microbiología. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | | | - Yaneth Vasquez
- Chemistry Department, Universidad de Córdoba, Montería, Colombia
| | - José Marrugo-Negrete
- Convergence Science and Technology Cluster, Universidad Central, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Silvia Marqués
- Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Protection. Estación Experimental Del Zaidín. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada, Spain
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Bourhane Z, Lanzén A, Cagnon C, Ben Said O, Mahmoudi E, Coulon F, Atai E, Borja A, Cravo-Laureau C, Duran R. Microbial diversity alteration reveals biomarkers of contamination in soil-river-lake continuum. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 421:126789. [PMID: 34365235 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Microbial communities inhabiting soil-water-sediment continuum in coastal areas provide important ecosystem services. Their adaptation in response to environmental stressors, particularly mitigating the impact of pollutants discharged from human activities, has been considered for the development of microbial biomonitoring tools, but their use is still in the infancy. Here, chemical and molecular (16S rRNA gene metabarcoding) approaches were combined in order to determine the impact of pollutants on microbial assemblages inhabiting the aquatic network of a soil-water-sediment continuum around the Ichkeul Lake (Tunisia), an area highly impacted by human activities. Samples were collected within the soil-river-lake continuum at three stations in dry (summer) and wet (winter) seasons. The contaminant pressure index (PI), which integrates Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkanes, Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and metal contents, and the microbial pressure index microgAMBI, based on bacterial community structure, showed significant correlation with contamination level and differences between seasons. The comparison of prokaryotic communities further revealed specific assemblages for soil, river and lake sediments. Correlation analyses identified potential "specialist" genera for the different compartments, whose abundances were correlated with the pollutant type found. Additionally, PICRUSt analysis revealed the metabolic potential for pollutant transformation or degradation of the identified "specialist" species, providing information to estimate the recovery capacity of the ecosystem. Such findings offer the possibility to define a relevant set of microbial indicators for assessing the effects of human activities on aquatic ecosystems. Microbial indicators, including the detection of "specialist" and sensitive taxa, and their functional capacity, might be useful, in combination with integrative microbial indices, to constitute accurate biomonitoring tools for the management and restoration of complex coastal aquatic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeina Bourhane
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, UPPA/E2S, IPREM CNRS 5254, Pau, France
| | - Anders Lanzén
- AZTI, Marine Research, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Herrera Kaia, Portualdea z/g, 20110 Pasaia, Gipuzkoa, Spain; IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, E-48011 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Christine Cagnon
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, UPPA/E2S, IPREM CNRS 5254, Pau, France
| | - Olfa Ben Said
- Laboratoire de Biosurveillance de l'Environnement, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, LBE, Tunisia
| | - Ezzeddine Mahmoudi
- Laboratoire de Biosurveillance de l'Environnement, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, LBE, Tunisia
| | - Frederic Coulon
- Cranfield University, School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield MK430AL, UK
| | - Emmanuel Atai
- Cranfield University, School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield MK430AL, UK
| | - Angel Borja
- AZTI, Marine Research, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Herrera Kaia, Portualdea z/g, 20110 Pasaia, Gipuzkoa, Spain; King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Robert Duran
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, UPPA/E2S, IPREM CNRS 5254, Pau, France.
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