TY - JOUR
T1 - The microbiology of metal mine waste
T2 - bioremediation applications and implications for planetary health
AU - Newsome, Laura
AU - Falagán, Carmen
N1 - Funding Information:
Laura Newsome acknowledges the support of the Natural Environment Research Council (NE/V006932/1). Carmen Falagán received funding from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 under Grant Agreement No 776846 (NEMO ‐ https://h2020-nemo.eu ). We would like to thank the University of Exeter Environment and Sustainability Institute for supporting the project to photograph microbial isolates from mining‐impacted environments via a Creative Exchange grant and Camborne School of Mines Trust for seed‐corn funding that supported the field trip and sequencing of microbial communities. We would also like to thank T. Sbaffi and A. Roman‐Gonzalez for supplying photographs.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. GeoHealth published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Geophysical Union.
PY - 2021/10/1
Y1 - 2021/10/1
N2 - Mine wastes pollute the environment with metals and metalloids in toxic concentrations, causing problems for humans and wildlife. Microorganisms colonize and inhabit mine wastes, and can influence the environmental mobility of metals through metabolic activity, biogeochemical cycling and detoxification mechanisms. In this article we review the microbiology of the metals and metalloids most commonly associated with mine wastes: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc. We discuss the molecular mechanisms by which bacteria, archaea, and fungi interact with contaminant metals and the consequences for metal fate in the environment, focusing on long-term field studies of metal-impacted mine wastes where possible. Metal contamination can decrease the efficiency of soil functioning and essential element cycling due to the need for microbes to expend energy to maintain and repair cells. However, microbial communities are able to tolerate and adapt to metal contamination, particularly when the contaminant metals are essential elements that are subject to homeostasis or have a close biochemical analog. Stimulating the development of microbially reducing conditions, for example in constructed wetlands, is beneficial for remediating many metals associated with mine wastes. It has been shown to be effective at low pH, circumneutral and high pH conditions in the laboratory and at pilot field-scale. Further demonstration of this technology at full field-scale is required, as is more research to optimize bioremediation and to investigate combined remediation strategies. Microbial activity has the potential to mitigate the impacts of metal mine wastes, and therefore lessen the impact of this pollution on planetary health.
AB - Mine wastes pollute the environment with metals and metalloids in toxic concentrations, causing problems for humans and wildlife. Microorganisms colonize and inhabit mine wastes, and can influence the environmental mobility of metals through metabolic activity, biogeochemical cycling and detoxification mechanisms. In this article we review the microbiology of the metals and metalloids most commonly associated with mine wastes: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc. We discuss the molecular mechanisms by which bacteria, archaea, and fungi interact with contaminant metals and the consequences for metal fate in the environment, focusing on long-term field studies of metal-impacted mine wastes where possible. Metal contamination can decrease the efficiency of soil functioning and essential element cycling due to the need for microbes to expend energy to maintain and repair cells. However, microbial communities are able to tolerate and adapt to metal contamination, particularly when the contaminant metals are essential elements that are subject to homeostasis or have a close biochemical analog. Stimulating the development of microbially reducing conditions, for example in constructed wetlands, is beneficial for remediating many metals associated with mine wastes. It has been shown to be effective at low pH, circumneutral and high pH conditions in the laboratory and at pilot field-scale. Further demonstration of this technology at full field-scale is required, as is more research to optimize bioremediation and to investigate combined remediation strategies. Microbial activity has the potential to mitigate the impacts of metal mine wastes, and therefore lessen the impact of this pollution on planetary health.
KW - bacteria
KW - biogeochemistry
KW - fungi
KW - mining
KW - remediation
KW - toxicity
KW - UKRI
KW - NERC
KW - NE/V006932/1
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118262709&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2020GH000380
DO - 10.1029/2020GH000380
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85118262709
VL - 5
JO - GeoHealth
JF - GeoHealth
IS - 10
M1 - e2020GH000380
ER -