Bacterial and fungal diversity in the lorandite (TlAsS2) mine ‘Allchar' in the Republic of North Macedonia

Abstract

The Allchar mineral mine is one of the oldest arsenic-antimony mines in the Republic of North Macedonia. The mine is a well-known reservoir of the worldwide purest source of the thallium-bearing mineral, lorandite (TlAsS2). The current study evaluated the bacterial and fungal diversity of three As- and Tl-contaminated sites in Allchar mineral mine. We used a combination of high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. Trace metal content was detected using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Our analysis showed the presence of 25 elements and confirmed a high concentration of As and Tl. Alpha diversity indices suggested a high diversity and evenness of bacterial and fungal communities. Bacterial phyla that dominated the environment were Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. Looking at the genus level, we found the following groups of bacteria: Chryseolinea, Opitutus, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas, Terrimonas, Sphingomonas, and Reyranella. For the fungi genera, we report Tetracladium sp., Coprinellus micaceus, Coprinus sp. from Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota phyla in all sites. We also observed a high abundance of the fungal species Pilidium sp., Dendroclathra lignicola, Rosellinia desmazieri, Hypomyces rosellus, and Coprinellus disseminatus. This study is the first to identify specific As- and Tl-tolerant fungal (Pilidium sp., Cladophialophora sp., Neobulgaria sp., and Mycena acicula) and bacterial (Trichococcus, Devosia, Litorilinea, and Gimesia) genera from Allchar mine, suggesting bioremediation and industrial potential.

Mycorrhizal inoculation effects on growth and the mycobiome of poplar on two phytomanaged sites after 7-year-short rotation coppicing

“…In addition, another study ( Huang et al., 2019 ) have shown that plants living under favourable conditions do not require a high diversity of mycorrhizal species; in contrast, they compete strongly for nutrients and OM, potentially leading to a decrease in diversity. There is a broad consensus that excessive concentrations of heavy metals, such as Cd, Zn and Pb, have substantial negative effects on the abundance and diversity of fungi ( Castañón-Silva et al., 2013 ; Yang et al., 2015 ; Taleski et al., 2020 ; Song et al., 2021 ). Indeed, the two soils exhibited high concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn ( Ciadamidaro et al., 2017 ) and a high degree of spatial heterogeneity in the concentration ranges of these metals.…”

Genome Sequence of Litorilinea aerophila, an Icelandic Intertidal Hot Springs Bacterium

“…In this work, we describe a draft genome sequence for the type strain of Litorilinea aerophila , PRI-4131 (= DSM 25763 = ATCC BAA-2444). Litorilinea aerophila was isolated from an intertidal hot spring (0.6% NaCl) in Iceland ( 9 ) but has since been found in other environments, including in the human cervicovaginal microbiota ( 13 ), in waste treatment and disposal sites/systems ( 14 – 16 ), in plant cultivation systems ( 17 ), and in mines ( 18 ).…”