Elevated soil concentrations of antimony (Sb) and co-contaminants are frequently encountered where antimony has been mined on a large scale. For instance, the Xikuangshan antimony mine in central South China has sustained, over many centuries, dispersed and spatially variable input of toxic elements into the soil ecosystem. We utilized this unique environment to assess the impact of geochemical conditions on soil microbiology. Geochemical conditions were assessed by monitoring absolute and available fractions of toxic elements and disrupted soil properties. Soil microbiology was studied by high-throughput sequencing and statistical analysis, including principle component analysis and canonical correspondence analysis. Results show that Sb concentrations were ranged from 970 to more than 24,000 mg/kg. As concentrations were three times higher than the regional background values and ten times higher for Pb, 590 times higher for Cd and 30 times higher for Hg. About 5–10% of the total soil Sb was environmentally mobile. Microbial diversity was high, and soil properties such as pH, organic matter, iron and sulfate controlled the absolute microbial activity. We identified strong positive and negative correlations with specific bacterial taxonomic groups which show: (1) an intolerance of available fractions for all elements, e.g., Gemmatimonas, Pirellula, Spartobacteria; (2) a good tolerance of available fractions for all elements, e.g., Povalibacter, Spartobacteria; and (3) a mixed response, tolerating available Sb, Hg and Cd and inhibition by As, Pb, e.g., Escherichia/Shigella and Arthrobacter, and in reverse, e.g., Gemmatimonas and Sphingomonas. The site hosts great diversity dominated by Gram-negative organisms, many with rod (bacillus) morphologies but also some filamentous forms, and a wide range of metabolic capabilities: anaerobes, e.g., Saccharibacteria, metal oxidizing, e.g., Geobacter, chemoautotrophs, e.g., Gemmata, and sulfur reducing, e.g., Desulfuromonas. The bioremediation potential of Arthrobacter and Escherichia/Shigella for Sb control is highlighted.

在大规模开采锑的地方，经常会遇到土壤中锑（Sb）和共污染物浓度升高的情况。例如，华南中部的西矿山锑矿在数个世纪以来一直持续向土壤生态系统中分散并在空间上改变有毒元素的输入。我们利用这种独特的环境来评估地球化学条件对土壤微生物的影响。通过监测有毒元素的绝对含量和可用含量以及破坏的土壤特性来评估地球化学条件。通过高通量测序和统计分析，包括主成分分析和规范对应分析，研究了土壤微生物学。结果表明，Sb的浓度范围为970至24,000 mg / kg以上。由于其浓度比区域本底值高三倍，而铅高十倍，镉高590倍，汞高30倍。土壤Sb总量中约有5-10％是环境可移动的。微生物多样性很高，土壤特性（例如pH，有机物，铁和硫酸盐）控制了绝对微生物活性。我们确定了与特定细菌分类学组的强正相关和负相关性，这些相关性表明：（1）所有元素的可用组分均不耐受，例如，Gemmatimonas，Pirellula，Spartobacteria ; （2）对所有成分（如杆状杆菌，Spartobacteria）的可用组分具有良好的耐受性；（3）混合反应，耐受有效的Sb，Hg和Cd并被As，Pb抑制，例如埃希氏菌/志贺氏菌和节杆菌，反之，例如，Gemmatimonas和鞘氨醇单胞菌。该地点拥有以革兰氏阴性生物为主的大量多样性，其中许多具有杆状（芽孢杆菌）形态，但也有一些丝状形式，并且具有广泛的代谢能力：厌氧菌，如糖细菌，金属氧化，如土杆菌，化学自养菌，例如金塔，以及还原硫的物质，例如Desulfuromonas。强调了节杆菌和大肠埃希菌/志贺氏菌对Sb控制的生物修复潜力。