Bacterial community composition in reclaimed and unreclaimed tailings of Dexing copper mine, China

Abstract

An investigation was conducted to compare the microbial community structures between contaminated and reclaimed mine tailings of Dexing copper mine, Jiangxi province, China. Sample T1 was obtained from tailings site, where reclamation of phytostabilization has been conducted for 20 years successfully whereas, the other one (sample T4) was obtained from the unreclaimed tailings site. Physico-chemical characteristics, chemical speciation of heavy metals Cu, Cd and Zn were revealed to compare the effects of reclamation. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based cloning approach was employed to investigate the bacterial community composition in these two samples. Results indicate the improved physico-chemical conditions and decreased bioavailability of heavy metals Cd and Zn significantly in the sample collected from reclaimed site compared with the other unreclaimed mine tailings site. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that bacteria in these two samples fell into 12 putative phylogenetic divisions. Sample T1 had 12 phyla were present, and the community was predominated by Planctomycetes (20%), α-proteobacteria (16%), Chloroflexi (12%) and Acidobacteria (10%). On the other hand, sample T4 had only 4 phyla and was predominated by y-proteobacteria (86%). The diversity of microbes in sample T1 significantly increased when compared with sample T4. The structure of microbial community composition in the first sample also was optimized to sustain more phyla associated with a healthier soil after reclamation. From the results, it could be deduced that the inventories of bacterial populations such as Planctomycetes, Chloroflexi, α-proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria predominated in sample T1, but were essentially absent in sample T4. This may serve as potential bioindicator for the reclamation evaluation of tailings.

Keywords: Mine tailings, reclamation, bacterial community composition, bioindicators

African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(30), pp. 4841-4849