Understanding variability in microbial biomining and bioremediation consortia; adaptation mechanisms for multiple extremes.

采矿是我们全球社会的核心，推动可持续矿产资源开发需要解决有关矿山废物管理和酸性矿山废水(AMD)的广泛影响的问题。我提议的研究计划的主要目标是了解微生物物种和联合体的作用、活性和适应机制的变异性，这些微生物物种和联合体对硫化矿山废物的风化至关重要，特别是在较冷的环境中。一方面，这些微生物导致了AMD的产生，但如果我们能够利用它们的能力，我们可以应用它们来通过生物开采提取价值，或者通过生物修复来帮助减少AMD。这项研究计划将重点放在安大略省萨德伯里周围久负盛名的采矿活动，并将这些与全球地点或远北地区(火环)可能的新采矿开发进行对比，本研究计划将解决两个主要问题，包括需要了解微生物协会如何适应原地矿山废物中的不同地球化学和气候条件，第二，了解当我们希望建立特定的微生物群落或抑制其有害影响(即不受控制的AMD生产)时，我们如何更好地促进或抑制某些适应机制。短期研究目标旨在解决基本问题，包括：1)北方不同采矿废物中微生物群落的生态/功能多样性如何变化；2)AMD微生物群落如何适应较冷环境中的高金属负荷和低pH，以及它们在接近零或零度以下的温度下保持活跃吗？3)不同矿山废物系统中具有冷活性的AMD群落微生物群是什么？4)它们的代谢特性(目标基因/酶)是什么，可以用于工业应用(生物浸出或生物修复)。在5年的拨款中，实现这些目标将增进我们对这些微生物如何在较冷的气候中驱动Fe/S生物地球化学循环以及它们如何应对扰动的理解，例如在未来几十年将受到显著环境变化影响的地区的土地利用、营养通量和可变的水和热状况的变化。这项提案的资金将支持环境微生物学、基因组学、生物信息学、微生物浸出和补救方面的4名研究生和5名本科生的培训，从而为在加拿大和其他地方促进可持续采矿提供新的HQP。

Mining is central to our global society and the push towards sustainable mineral resource development requires addressing the issues around mine waste management and widespread impacts from acid mine drainage (AMD). The key objectives of my proposed research program are to understand the variability in both the role, activity, and adaptation mechanisms of microbial species and consortia that are central to the weathering of sulfidic mine waste, particularly in colder environments. On the one had these microbes lead to the production of AMD, but if we can harness their abilities, we can apply them to extract value through biomining, or help reduce AMD through bioremediation. With an emphasis on the long established mining around Sudbury, Ontario and contrasting these with global sites or possible new mining developments in the Far North (Ring of Fire), this research program will address two major issues including the need to understand how microbial consortia adapt to different geochemical and climate conditions within mine waste materials in situ, and secondly, to understand how we can better promote or inhibit certain adaptive mechanisms when we wish to either establish particular microbial communities, or inhibit their deleterious impact (i.e. uncontrolled AMD production). The short-term research goals aim to address fundamental questions including: 1) How does the ecology/functional diversity of microbial communities vary in different mining wastes in northern environments?; 2) How do AMD microbial communities adapt to high metal loads and low pH in colder environments and do they remain active at near zero/subzero temperatures?; 3) What is the cold-active AMD community microbiome in different mine waste systems and; 4) What are their metabolic properties (target genes/enzymes) that may be used in industrial applications (bioleaching or bioremediation). Over the 5 year grant, achieving these goals will advance our understanding of how these microbes drive Fe/S biogeochemical cycles in colder climates and how they might respond to perturbations, such as changes in land use, nutrient flux, and variable water and thermal regimes, in a region that will be subject to pronounced environmental change in the coming decades. Funding for this proposal will support the training of 4 graduate and 5 undergraduate students in environmental microbiology, genomics, bioinformatics, microbial bioleaching, and remediation, thus contributing new HQP required to promote sustainable mining in Canada, and elsewhere.