Influence of geogenic factors on microbial communities in metallogenic Australian soils

Reith, Frank; Brugger, Joël; Zammit, Carla M.; Gregg, Adrienne; Goldfarb, Katherine C.; Andersen, Gary L.; DeSantis, Todd Z.; Piceno, Yvette M.; Brodie, Eoin L.; Lü, Zhenmei; He, Zhili; Zhou, Jizhong; Wakelin, Steven A.

doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.48

Cited by 71 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Geogenic factors were determined using geologic-, regolith-and soil-mapping criteria combined with geochemical analyses for 49 elements, pH and electrical conductivity in the soil samples. Multivariate statistical analyses showed the concentration of elements in soils was strongly linked to the underlying gold deposit and regolith landform ( Figure 9C); note the example shown in Figure 9C,D relates to one of four case studies presented in Reith et al [54], i.e., the study of 62 samples collected at the Old Pirate deposit in Northern Territory of Australia. Here, canonical correlation coefficients were high (δ1 0.91; δ2 0.70), and CA1 and CA2 accounted for 34.2% and 12.0% of variation in the bacterial dataset, respectively ( Figure 9D).…”

Section: Bioindicatorsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…While the average concentrations of copper in soils are 25 μg g −1 , average gold concentrations lie in the range of a few ng g −1 [53]. For example, at Australian sites from which gold grains for DNA-fingerprinting of associated biofilms were obtained, ratios of copper to gold in soils lay between 25 and 9000 [54]. In areas where biogeochemical cycling of gold and copper has led to the formation of soil anomalies gold concentrations of up to 2 μg g −1 of gold were detected, whereas these soils can contain several hundred μg of copper g −1 of soil [55].…”

Section: Cupriavidus Metallidurans Ch34-putative Co-utilization Of Otmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using PhyloChip the authors were able to identify a greater level of species richness than had been reported at similar sites in the past [86,87]. In another study, 187 soil samples were collected from four naturally metallomorphic sites spanning three climatic zones across Australia to assess the links between soil microbial communities and geogenic factors, namely the underlying geology, the position in the landscape, i.e., regolith landform, and the presence of gold mineralization [54]. Field fresh soils and soils incubated with soluble gold(III)-complexes were analyzed using a polyphasic approach consisting of three-domain M-TRFLP combined with high-density phylogenetic (PhyloChip) and functional (GeoChip) microarrays.…”

Section: Bioindicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geobiological Cycling of Gold: From Fundamental Process Understanding to Exploration Solutions

et al. 2013

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Microbial communities mediating gold cycling occur on gold grains from (sub)-tropical, (semi)-arid, temperate and subarctic environments. The majority of identified species comprising these biofilms are β-Proteobacteria. Some bacteria, e.g., Cupriavidus metallidurans, Delftia acidovorans and Salmonella typhimurium, have developed biochemical responses to deal with highly toxic gold complexes. These include gold specific sensing and efflux, co-utilization of resistance mechanisms for other metals, and excretion of gold-complex-reducing siderophores that ultimately catalyze the biomineralization of nano-particulate, spheroidal and/or bacteriomorphic gold. In turn, the toxicity of gold complexes fosters the development of specialized biofilms on gold grains, and hence the cycling of gold in surface environments. This was not reported on isoferroplatinum grains under most near-surface environments, due to the lower toxicity of mobile platinum complexes. The discovery of gold-specific microbial responses can now drive the development of geobiological exploration tools, e.g., gold bioindicators and biosensors. Bioindicators employ genetic markers from soils and groundwaters to provide information about gold mineralization processes, while biosensors will allow in-field analyses of gold concentrations in complex sampling media.

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Section: Bioindicatorsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Cupriavidus Metallidurans Ch34-putative Co-utilization Of Otmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bioindicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geobiological Cycling of Gold: From Fundamental Process Understanding to Exploration Solutions

et al. 2013

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“…In particular, highly mobile elements, e.g., S, Zn, Cl, and Al, were implicated as drivers of bacterial community structures across these sites (21,22). A study of 187 soils collected at four naturally auriferous (i.e., Au-containing) areas in remote Australia has shown that microbial communities and functional potentials differ significantly with landform, soil depth, lithology, and Au deposits (23). This demonstrated that geogenic factors are important drivers of microbial community diversity at sites where anthropogenic land use is minimal and uniform across sampling localities.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Geogenic Factors as Drivers of Microbial Community Diversity in Soils Overlying Polymetallic Deposits

Reith

Zammit

Pohrib

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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dThis study shows that the geogenic factors landform, lithology, and underlying mineral deposits (expressed by elevated metal concentrations in overlying soils) are key drivers of microbial community diversity in naturally metal-rich Australian soils with different land uses, i.e., agriculture versus natural bushland. One hundred sixty-eight soil samples were obtained from two metal-rich provinces in Australia, i.e., the Fifield Au-Pt field (New South Wales) and the Hillside Cu-Au-U rare-earth-element (REE) deposit (South Australia). Soils were analyzed using three-domain multiplex terminal-restriction-fragment-length-polymorphism (M-TRFLP) and PhyloChip microarrays. Geogenic factors were determined using field-mapping techniques and analyses of >50 geochemical parameters. At Fifield, microbial communities differed significantly with geogenic factors and equally with land use (P < 0.05). At Hillside, communities in surface soils (0.03-to 0.2-m depth) differed significantly with landform and land use (P < 0.05). Communities in deeper soils (>0.2 m) differed significantly with lithology and mineral deposit (P < 0.05). Across both sites, elevated metal contents in soils overlying mineral deposits were selective for a range of bacterial taxa, most importantly Acidobacteria, Bacilli, Betaproteobacteria, and Epsilonproteobacteria. In conclusion, long-term geogenic factors can be just as important as land use in determining soil microbial community diversity. Determining the drivers of microbial community composition in soils is challenging, because soils are complex ecosystems containing numerous ecological niches. This results in an immense diversity, with up to thousands of taxa per gram of soil (1). Land use, climate, vegetation, soil type, and anthropogenic pollution are strongly linked to soil microbial community structures, functions, and activities at many sites (2-4). In particular, agricultural practices are known to drive differences in soil microbial communities (5). Influences of geogenic factors, e.g., landform, underlying lithologies, and mineral deposits on soil microbial communities, have received little attention. However, three studies of soils from Switzerland and Nepal have shown that geological/mineralogical factors can significantly affect species assemblages and functions (6-8).A primary goal of geomicrobiological research is to link microbial communities and metal cycling in metallogenic environments and to determine how communities are structured due to metalassociated drivers (9). Microorganisms play a pivotal role in the biogeochemical cycling of many metals, particularly those essential for cell function, e.g., Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, V, W, and Zn, and those oxidized or reduced in catabolic reactions to gain metabolic energy, e.g., As, Fe, Mn, Mo, Sb, Se, Sn, Te, U, and V (10). Therefore, metal-rich environments are useful model systems allowing links between microbial taxa and geochemical parameters to be identified (11).To date, mine tailing and acid mine drainage sites have been ...

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“…Microorganisms are able to thrive under a variety of extreme conditions including strongly acidified soils and metal-rich mineralized zones [1][2][3]. Some metal-tolerant bacteria in these environments are able to carve out niche existences by using the available metal and metal-containing compounds as sources of nutrition and energy [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immobilisation of Platinum by Cupriavidus metallidurans

et al. 2018

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Abstract:The metal resistant bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34, challenged with aqueous platinous and platinic chloride, rapidly immobilized platinum. XANES/EXAFS analysis of these reaction systems demonstrated that platinum binding shifted from chloride to carboxyl functional groups within the bacteria. Pt(IV) was more toxic than Pt(II), presumably due to the oxidative stress imparted by the platinic form. Platinum immobilisation increased with time and with increasing concentrations of platinum. From a bacterial perspective, intracellular platinum concentrations were two to three orders of magnitude greater than the fluid phase, and became saturated at almost molar concentrations in both reaction systems. TEM revealed that C. metallidurans was also able to precipitate nm-scale colloidal platinum, primarily along the cell envelope where energy generation/electron transport occurs. Cells enriched in platinum shed outer membrane vesicles that were enriched in metallic, colloidal platinum, likely representing an important detoxification strategy. The formation of organo-platinum compounds and membrane encapsulated nanophase platinum, supports a role for bacteria in the formation and transport of platinum in natural systems, forming dispersion halos important to metal exploration.

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Influence of geogenic factors on microbial communities in metallogenic Australian soils

Cited by 71 publications

References 40 publications

Geobiological Cycling of Gold: From Fundamental Process Understanding to Exploration Solutions

Geobiological Cycling of Gold: From Fundamental Process Understanding to Exploration Solutions

Geogenic Factors as Drivers of Microbial Community Diversity in Soils Overlying Polymetallic Deposits

Immobilisation of Platinum by Cupriavidus metallidurans

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