Differences and causes of the terrestrial surface distribution of microbial communities in two lithium mines located in Lushi, Henan and Yichun, Jiangxi

Abstract:

[Objective] To reveal the diversity of bacterial communities on the surface of lithium ores and weathering products on the ground. [Methods] We performed high-throughput sequencing for the amplification of bacterial 16S rRNA fragments, and analyzed the composition, diversity and functional properties of bacterial communities on the terrestrial surface of different lithium ores and their weathering products.[Results] The bacterial community diversity on the surface of pegmatite-type lithium ores and its weathering products in Nanyangshan, Lushi, Henan Province was different from that on the granite-type lithium ores in Yichun, Jiangxi Province. The OTUs of Nanyangshan pegmatite ores and weathering products, Yichun granite ores surface and weathering products (NK-1, NK-1F, YK-1, YK-1F, YK-2, YK-2F, YK-3) were 1010, 540, 835, 828, 1117, 974 and 604, respectively. The difference was significantly related to the different mineral composition. Both mines had their own dominant microorganisms at the phylum level, and Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were their dominant phyla. At the same time, there were significant differences in the composition of microbial communities in the two mines (P<0.05), and the differences in weathering product samples from different mines were particularly significant (P<0.001). At the genus level, the relative abundance of pegmatite ore NK-1 dominant genera (greater than 5%) was Sphingomonas, Massilia; weathered product NK-1F was Paenibacillus, Bacillus, Massilia. The dominant genera of the weathered ore YK-1F was Blastococcus, Candidatus-Solibacter, Noviherbaspirillum, Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia, YK-2 was unidentified-Chloroplast, while the granite ores YK-2F and YK-3 were Kitasatospora, Massilia 1174-901-12 and Methylobacterium, respectively. The functional annotations of ore and weathered material samples from different mines all involved six metabolic pathways, including metabolism, genetic information processing, and environmental information processing. [Conclusion] 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing revealed that there were differences in bacterial diversity of lithium ores and its weathering products in different mines, each with unique dominant groups. The differences in bacterial composition, diversity and functional properties between samples closely associated with the mineral composition, weathering degree, and the geographical location. The revealed potential relationships between the elemental geochemical functions of the dominant microbial groups and the surface weathering of lithium-containing minerals provides new data for studies on the microbial ecological distribution and development of microbial resources.