Soil Microbial Responses to Varying Environmental Conditions in a Copper Belt Region of Africa: Phytoremediation Perspectives
The mining industry in the copper belt region of Africa was initiated in the early 1900s, with copper being the main ore extracted to date. The main objectives of the present study are (1) to characterize the microbial structure, abundance, and diversity in different ecological conditions in the cup...
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2024-12-01
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| author | Kabwe Nkongolo John B. Mukalay Antoine K. Lubobo Paul Michael |
| author_facet | Kabwe Nkongolo John B. Mukalay Antoine K. Lubobo Paul Michael |
| author_sort | Kabwe Nkongolo |
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| description | The mining industry in the copper belt region of Africa was initiated in the early 1900s, with copper being the main ore extracted to date. The main objectives of the present study are (1) to characterize the microbial structure, abundance, and diversity in different ecological conditions in the cupriferous city of Lubumbashi and (2) to assess the metal phytoextraction potential of <i>Leucaena leucocephala</i>, a main plant species used in tailing. Four ecologically different sites were selected. They include a residential area (site 1), an agricultural dry field (site 2), and an agricultural wetland (site 3), all located within the vicinity of a copper/cobalt mining plant. A remediated tailing was also added as a highly stressed area (site 4). As expected, the highest levels of copper and cobalt among the sites studied were found at the remediated tailing, with 9447 mg/kg and 2228 mg/kg for copper and cobalt, respectively. The levels of these metals at the other sites were low, varying from 41 mg/kg to 579 mg/kg for copper and from 4 mg/kg to 110 mg/kg for cobalt. Interestingly, this study revealed that the <i>Leucaena leucocephala</i> grown on the remediated sites is a copper/cobalt excluder species as it accumulates soil bioavailable metals from the rhizosphere in its roots. Amplicon sequence analysis showed significant differences among the sites in bacterial and fungal composition and abundance. Site-specific genera were identified. <i>Acidibacter</i> was the most abundant bacterial genus in the residential and remediated tailing sites, with 11.1% and 4.4%, respectively. <i>Bacillus</i> was predominant in both dry (19.3%) and wet agricultural lands (4.8%). For fungi, <i>Fusarium</i> exhibited the highest proportion of the fungal genera at all the sites, with a relative abundance ranging from 15.6% to 20.3%. Shannon diversity entropy indices were high and similar, ranging from 8.3 to 9 for bacteria and 7.0 and 7.4 for fungi. Β diversity analysis confirmed the closeness of the four sites regardless of the environmental conditions. This lack of differences in the microbial community diversity and structures among the sites suggests microbial resilience and physiological adaptations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-707977d46fde4609a925219e368d64af |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-707977d46fde4609a925219e368d64af2025-01-24T13:42:22ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072024-12-011313110.3390/microorganisms13010031Soil Microbial Responses to Varying Environmental Conditions in a Copper Belt Region of Africa: Phytoremediation PerspectivesKabwe Nkongolo0John B. Mukalay1Antoine K. Lubobo2Paul Michael3School of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaFaculty of Agronomy, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi BP 1825, Democratic Republic of the CongoFaculty of Agronomy, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi BP 1825, Democratic Republic of the CongoSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaThe mining industry in the copper belt region of Africa was initiated in the early 1900s, with copper being the main ore extracted to date. The main objectives of the present study are (1) to characterize the microbial structure, abundance, and diversity in different ecological conditions in the cupriferous city of Lubumbashi and (2) to assess the metal phytoextraction potential of <i>Leucaena leucocephala</i>, a main plant species used in tailing. Four ecologically different sites were selected. They include a residential area (site 1), an agricultural dry field (site 2), and an agricultural wetland (site 3), all located within the vicinity of a copper/cobalt mining plant. A remediated tailing was also added as a highly stressed area (site 4). As expected, the highest levels of copper and cobalt among the sites studied were found at the remediated tailing, with 9447 mg/kg and 2228 mg/kg for copper and cobalt, respectively. The levels of these metals at the other sites were low, varying from 41 mg/kg to 579 mg/kg for copper and from 4 mg/kg to 110 mg/kg for cobalt. Interestingly, this study revealed that the <i>Leucaena leucocephala</i> grown on the remediated sites is a copper/cobalt excluder species as it accumulates soil bioavailable metals from the rhizosphere in its roots. Amplicon sequence analysis showed significant differences among the sites in bacterial and fungal composition and abundance. Site-specific genera were identified. <i>Acidibacter</i> was the most abundant bacterial genus in the residential and remediated tailing sites, with 11.1% and 4.4%, respectively. <i>Bacillus</i> was predominant in both dry (19.3%) and wet agricultural lands (4.8%). For fungi, <i>Fusarium</i> exhibited the highest proportion of the fungal genera at all the sites, with a relative abundance ranging from 15.6% to 20.3%. Shannon diversity entropy indices were high and similar, ranging from 8.3 to 9 for bacteria and 7.0 and 7.4 for fungi. Β diversity analysis confirmed the closeness of the four sites regardless of the environmental conditions. This lack of differences in the microbial community diversity and structures among the sites suggests microbial resilience and physiological adaptations.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/31copper belt regionLubumbashiIllumina sequencingmetal translocation from rhizospheremicrobial abundance and diversityphytoremediation |
| spellingShingle | Kabwe Nkongolo John B. Mukalay Antoine K. Lubobo Paul Michael Soil Microbial Responses to Varying Environmental Conditions in a Copper Belt Region of Africa: Phytoremediation Perspectives Microorganisms copper belt region Lubumbashi Illumina sequencing metal translocation from rhizosphere microbial abundance and diversity phytoremediation |
| title | Soil Microbial Responses to Varying Environmental Conditions in a Copper Belt Region of Africa: Phytoremediation Perspectives |
| title_full | Soil Microbial Responses to Varying Environmental Conditions in a Copper Belt Region of Africa: Phytoremediation Perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Soil Microbial Responses to Varying Environmental Conditions in a Copper Belt Region of Africa: Phytoremediation Perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil Microbial Responses to Varying Environmental Conditions in a Copper Belt Region of Africa: Phytoremediation Perspectives |
| title_short | Soil Microbial Responses to Varying Environmental Conditions in a Copper Belt Region of Africa: Phytoremediation Perspectives |
| title_sort | soil microbial responses to varying environmental conditions in a copper belt region of africa phytoremediation perspectives |
| topic | copper belt region Lubumbashi Illumina sequencing metal translocation from rhizosphere microbial abundance and diversity phytoremediation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/31 |
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