Pan Xin, Yue Zhengbo, She Zhixiang, He Xiao, Wang Shaoping, Chuai Xin, Wang Jin
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
Anhui Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Treatment and Resource Recovery, Hefei 230009, China.
Microorganisms. 2023 Apr 9;11(4):979. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11040979.
The stratified acidic pit lake formed by the confluence of acid mine drainage has a unique ecological niche and is a model system for extreme microbial studies. Eukaryotes are a component of the AMD community, with the main members including microalgae, fungi, and a small number of protozoa. In this study, we analyzed the structural traits and interactions of eukaryotes (primarily fungi and microalgae) in acidic pit lakes subjected to environmental gradients. Based on the findings, microalgae and fungi were found to dominate different water layers. Specifically, Chlorophyta showed dominance in the well-lit aerobic surface layer, whereas Basidiomycota was more abundant in the dark anoxic lower layer. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that reciprocal relationships between fungi and microalgae were prevalent in extremely acidic environments. Highly connected taxa within this network were , , and unclassified Eukaryotes. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and random forest models revealed that Chlorophyta and Basidiomycota responded strongly to environmental gradients. Further analysis indicated that eukaryotic community structure was mainly determined by nutrient and metal concentrations. This study investigates the potential symbiosis between fungi and microalgae in the acidic pit lake, providing valuable insights for future eukaryotic biodiversity studies on AMD remediation.
由酸性矿山排水汇合形成的分层酸性坑湖具有独特的生态位，是极端微生物研究的模型系统。真核生物是酸性矿山排水群落的一个组成部分，主要成员包括微藻、真菌和少数原生动物。在本研究中，我们分析了在环境梯度下酸性坑湖中真核生物（主要是真菌和微藻）的结构特征和相互作用。基于这些发现，发现微藻和真菌在不同水层中占主导地位。具体而言，绿藻门在光照良好的有氧表层占优势，而担子菌门在黑暗缺氧的下层更为丰富。共现网络分析表明，真菌和微藻之间的相互关系在极端酸性环境中普遍存在。该网络中高度连接的分类群是 、 和未分类的真核生物。冗余分析（RDA）和随机森林模型表明，绿藻门和担子菌门对环境梯度反应强烈。进一步分析表明，真核生物群落结构主要由营养物质和金属浓度决定。本研究调查了酸性坑湖中真菌和微藻之间潜在的共生关系，为未来关于酸性矿山排水修复的真核生物多样性研究提供了有价值的见解。
