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Long-term Impact of Gold and Platinum on Microbial Diversity in Australian Soils

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

The effects of platinum (Pt) and gold (Au) and on the soil bacterial community was evaluated in four different Australian soil types (acidic Burn Grounds (BGR), organic matter–rich Fox Lane, high silt/metal Pinpinio (PPN), and alkali Minnipa (MNP) spiked with either Pt or Au at 1, 25, and 100 mg kg−1 using a next-generation sequencing approach (amplicon-based, MiSeq). Soil type and metal concentrations were observed to be key drivers of Pt and Au effects on soil microbial community structure. Different trends were therefore observed in the response of the bacterial community to Pt and Au amendments; however in each soil type, Pt and Au amendment caused a detectable shift in community structure that in most samples was positively correlated with increasing metal concentrations. New dominant groups were only observed in BGR and PPN soils at 100 mg kg−1 (Kazan-3B-28 and Verrucomicrobia groups (BGR, Pt) and Firmicutes and Caldithrix groups (PPN, Pt) and WS2 (BGR, Au). The effects of Pt on soil microbial diversity were largely adverse at 100 mg kg−1 and were pronounced in acidic, basic, and metal/silt-rich soils. However, this effect was concentration-related; Au appeared to be more toxic to soil bacterial communities than Pt at 25 mg kg−1 but Pt was more toxic at 100 mg kg−1. More bacterial groups such as those belonging to Burkholderiales/Burkholderiaceae, Alicyclobacillaceae, Rubrobacteraceae, Cytophagaceae, Oxalobacteraceae were selectively enriched by Pt compared to Au (Sphingomonadaceae and Rhodospirillaceae) amendments irrespective of soil type. The research outcomes have important implications in the management (remediation) of Pt- and Au-contaminated environments.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the following institutions for their contributions and support: Australian Research Council (ARC-FT100150200 to FR), the Dean of Scientific Research, King Saud University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, RMIT University, PO Box 71, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia

    Sahar Shar, Andrew S. Ball & Esmaeil Shahsavari

  2. Deanship of Scientific Research King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Sahar Shar

  3. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia

    Frank Reith

  4. CSIRO Land and Water, Environmental Contaminant Mitigation and Technologies, PMB2, Glen Osmond, South Australia, 5064, Australia

    Frank Reith

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  1. Sahar Shar
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Correspondence to Esmaeil Shahsavari.

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Frank Reith passed away during the preparation of the manuscript.

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Shar, S., Reith, F., Ball, A.S. et al. Long-term Impact of Gold and Platinum on Microbial Diversity in Australian Soils. Microb Ecol 81, 977–989 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-020-01663-x

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