García-Moyano Antonio, Austnes Andreas Erling, Lanzén Anders, González-Toril Elena, Aguilera Ángeles, Øvreås Lise
Department of Biology, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.
Neiker-Tecnalia, Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, c/Berreaga 1, E48160 Derio, Spain.
Microorganisms. 2015 Oct 13;3(4):667-94. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms3040667.
Svalbard, situated in the high Arctic, is an important past and present coal mining area. Dozens of abandoned waste rock piles can be found in the proximity of Longyearbyen. This environment offers a unique opportunity for studying the biological control over the weathering of sulphide rocks at low temperatures. Although the extension and impact of acid mine drainage (AMD) in this area is known, the native microbial communities involved in this process are still scarcely studied and uncharacterized. Several abandoned mining areas were explored in the search for active AMD and a culture-independent approach was applied with samples from two different runoffs for the identification and quantification of the native microbial communities. The results obtained revealed two distinct microbial communities. One of the runoffs was more extreme with regards to pH and higher concentration of soluble iron and heavy metals. These conditions favored the development of algal-dominated microbial mats. Typical AMD microorganisms related to known iron-oxidizing bacteria (Acidithiobacillus ferrivorans, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria) dominated the bacterial community although some unexpected populations related to Chloroflexi were also significant. No microbial mats were found in the second area. The geochemistry here showed less extreme drainage, most likely in direct contact with the ore under the waste pile. Large deposits of secondary minerals were found and the presence of iron stalks was revealed by microscopy analysis. Although typical AMD microorganisms were also detected here, the microbial community was dominated by other populations, some of them new to this type of system (Saccharibacteria, Gallionellaceae). These were absent or lowered in numbers the farther from the spring source and they could represent native populations involved in the oxidation of sulphide rocks within the waste rock pile. This environment appears thus as a highly interesting field of potential novelty in terms of both phylogenetic/taxonomic and functional diversity.
斯瓦尔巴群岛位于北极地区，是一个重要的煤炭开采区，过去和现在都有煤矿开采活动。在朗伊尔城附近可以发现数十个废弃的矸石堆。这种环境为研究低温下硫化物岩石风化的生物控制提供了独特的机会。尽管已知该地区酸性矿山排水（AMD）的范围和影响，但参与这一过程的本地微生物群落仍鲜有人研究且未得到表征。为了寻找活跃的AMD，我们对几个废弃矿区进行了勘查，并采用了一种不依赖培养的方法，对来自两种不同径流的样本进行分析，以鉴定和量化本地微生物群落。所得结果揭示了两个不同的微生物群落。其中一条径流在pH值、可溶性铁和重金属浓度方面更为极端。这些条件有利于以藻类为主的微生物垫的形成。与已知的铁氧化细菌（嗜铁嗜酸硫杆菌、酸杆菌和放线菌）相关的典型AMD微生物在细菌群落中占主导地位，不过一些与绿弯菌门相关的意外菌群也很显著。在第二个区域未发现微生物垫。这里的地球化学显示排水情况没那么极端，很可能是与矸石堆下的矿石直接接触所致。发现了大量次生矿物沉积物，显微镜分析揭示了铁柄的存在。尽管这里也检测到了典型的AMD微生物，但微生物群落以其他菌群为主，其中一些在这类系统中是新发现的（糖细菌、嘉利翁菌科）。离泉水源头越远，这些菌群的数量就越少或不存在了，它们可能代表了参与矸石堆中硫化物岩石氧化的本地菌群。因此，就系统发育/分类和功能多样性而言，这个环境似乎是一个极具潜在新奇性的有趣领域。
