Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2012 Mar;79(3):720-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01254.x. Epub 2011 Dec 15.
Copper has a dual role for organisms, both as micronutrient and toxic element. Copper mining activities have an enormous ecological impact because of the extraction process and the consequent release of copper-containing waste materials to the environment. In northern Chile, mainly in the Chañaral coastal area, this phenomenon is clearly evident. The released waste material has caused a strong modification of the area, and copper enrichment of beaches and rocky shores has provoked a decrease in the richness and diversity of many species of macroorganisms. However, the effects that copper enrichment has on microbial (e.g. bacterial epilithic) communities associated with the rocky shore environment are poorly understood. Using a culture-independent molecular approach, field sampling and laboratory microcosm experiments, we determined the effects of copper enrichment on bacterial communities inhabiting the rocky shore environment. Field samples showed a strong effect of copper on the structure of the natural bacterial epilithic communities, and microcosm experiments demonstrated rapid changes in bacterial community when copper is added, and reversibility of this effect within 48 h after copper is removed.
铜对生物体具有双重作用，既是微量元素又是有毒元素。由于开采过程以及随之将含铜废物释放到环境中，铜开采活动对生态产生了巨大影响。在智利北部，主要是在查纳拉尔沿海地区，这种现象非常明显。释放的废物材料强烈改变了该地区，海滩和多岩石海岸的铜富集导致许多大型生物物种的丰富度和多样性下降。然而，铜富集对与多岩石海岸环境相关的微生物（例如细菌附生群落）的影响知之甚少。本研究使用非培养的分子方法、野外采样和实验室微宇宙实验，确定了铜富集对多岩石海岸环境中细菌群落的影响。野外样本表明铜对自然细菌附生群落结构有强烈影响，微宇宙实验表明当添加铜时，细菌群落会迅速发生变化，并且在去除铜后 48 小时内这种影响具有可逆性。
