Man's trash is a microbe's treasure: the diversity and metabolic potential of microorganisms in landfill solid and liquid waste

人类的活动导致了环境的广泛污染，从海洋中的油羽到全球各地的垃圾填埋场。这些污染物中的许多可以被环境中的微生物转化，微生物将化合物转化为毒性较低或完全无害的物质。一旦确定，这些微生物活动可用于修复受污染的场地--但绝大多数微生物的代谢潜力仍未得到描述。非营利组织Pure Earth将城市垃圾填埋场列为世界上最严重的污染问题(www.worstpolluted.org/projects_reports/display/100)，中的第五名，反映了垃圾填埋场复杂的污染物分布以及对环境和人类健康的潜在影响。垃圾填埋场内的微生物活动对无机和有机废物的分解至关重要，但对涉及的生物、途径和过程知之甚少。

Mankind’s activities have lead to widespread contamination of the environment, from oil plumes in the oceans to landfills across the globe. Many of these contaminants can be transformed by microorganisms in the environment, which convert the compounds to less toxic or completely innocuous substances. Once identified, these microbial activities can be used to remediate contaminated sites – but the vast majority of microbial metabolic potential remains undescribed. The non-profit organization Pure Earth labeled municipal landfills #5 in the world’s worst pollution problems (www.worstpolluted.org/projects_reports/display/100), reflecting landfills’ complex contaminant profiles and potential impacts on both the environment and human health. Microbial activity within landfills is critical for decomposition of inorganic and organic wastes, but the organisms, pathways, and processes involved are poorly understood.