Fungal community diversity of heavy metal contaminated soils revealed by metagenomics

• Published in: Archives of microbiology 2022-05, Vol.204 (5), p.255, Article 255
• Main Authors: Passarini, Michel Rodrigo Zambrano, Ottoni, Júlia Ronzella, Costa, Paulo Emílio dos Santos, Hissa, Denise Cavalvante, Falcão, Raul Maia, Melo, Vânia Maria Maciel, Balbino, Valdir Queiroz, Mendonça, Luiz Alberto Ribeiro, Lima, Maria Gorethe de Sousa, Coutinho, Henrique Douglas Melo, Verde, Leandro Costa Lima
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biochemistry; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bioremediation; Biosorption; Biotechnology; Cell Biology; Decontamination; DNA repair; Ecology; Environmental impact; Fungi; Gene sequencing; Heavy metals; Industrial pollution; Industrial wastes; Life Sciences; Metabolic pathways; Metagenomics; Metals; Metals, Heavy - metabolism; Microbial activity; Microbial contamination; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Mycobiome; Nucleotide sequence; Original Paper; Sediments; Soil; Soil contamination; Soil Microbiology; Soil Pollutants - metabolism; Soil pollution
• ISSN: 0302-8933; 1432-072X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00203-022-02860-7

The inappropriate disposal of toxic compounds generated by industrial activity has been impacting the environment considerably. Microbial communities inhabiting contaminated sites may represent interesting ecological alternatives for the decontamination of environments. The present work aimed to investigate the fungal diversity and its functionality contained in stream sediments with industrial waste contaminated with heavy metals by using metagenomic approach. A total of 12 fungal orders were retrieved from datasets and, at phylum level, Ascomycota was the most abundant, followed by Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota and Blastocladiomycota. Higher abundance of sequences was encountered within the less contaminated site, while the lower abundance was found in the sample with the higher contamination with lead. Gene sequences related to DNA repair and heavy metals biosorption processes were found in the four samples analyzed. The genera Aspergillus and Chaetomium , and Saccharomycetales order were highly present within all samples, showing their potential to be used for bioremediation studies. The present work demonstrated the importance of using the metagenomic approach to understand the dynamics and the possible metabolic pathways associated with fungal communities related to environmental samples containing heavy metals, as well as evidenced the importance of improving culturomics techniques for isolating strains with potential application in bioremediation processes of environments contaminated with heavy metals.