Insights on the freshwater microbiomes metabolic changes associated with the world's largest mining disaster

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 654; pp. 1209 - 1217
• Main Authors: Cordeiro, Marcelle C., Garcia, Gizele D., Rocha, André M., Tschoeke, Diogo A., Campeão, Mariana E., Appolinario, Luciana R., Soares, Ana C., Leomil, Luciana, Froes, Adriana, Bahiense, Laura, Rezende, Carlos E., de Almeida, Marcelo G., Rangel, Thiago P., De Oliveira, Braulio Cherene Vaz, de Almeida, Diogo Q.R., Thompson, Mateus C., Thompson, Cristiane C., Thompson, Fabiano L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.03.2019
• Subjects: Actinobacteria; aluminum; Bacteroidetes; Biomarker; Brazil; Chemical Hazard Release; Disasters; dissolved oxygen; Doce River; Environmental Monitoring; Fresh Water - microbiology; freshwater; Fundão dam; genes; guidelines; iron; laws and regulations; meta-analysis; Metagenomics; metal tolerance; microbial communities; microbiome; Microbiota; mine tailings; Mining; Mining disaster; nitrogen metabolism; nucleotide sequences; particulates; physicochemical properties; physiological transport; rivers; turbidity; virulence; Water Microbiology; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water quality; Brazil; Doce River; Metagenomics; Biomarker; Mining disaster; Fundão dam; Water quality
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.112

To evaluate the impacts of the Fundão tailings dam failure (Minas Gerais, Brazil) on water quality of the Doce River, we analyzed metagenomics and physicochemical parameters during the month of the disaster and again 6 and 10 months after the disaster. To compare dam conditions before and after the failure, we performed a meta-analysis of physicochemical data from a public database. Immediately after the failure, suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Doce River was 225–1877 mg L−1. Turbidity and dissolved aluminum and iron concentrations were extremely high, whereas dissolved oxygen was below Brazilian legislation norm (<5 mg L−1) in several locations. Six months later, physicochemical values were below thresholds set by Brazilian guidelines (e.g., SPM = 8–166 mg L−1). Short-term impacts on microbial communities included an increase in Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes and gene sequences related to microbial virulence, motility, respiration, membrane transport, iron and nitrogen metabolism, suggesting changes in microbial metabolic profiles. The 11 recovered partial genomes from metagenomes (MAGs) had genes related to Fe cycle and metal resistance. [Display omitted] •Possible effects of pollutants in Doce River after Fundão dam rupture were evaluated.•Fundão tailing induced short-term alterations in the Doce River microbiota.•Streptomycetaceae was detected as useful biomarker of environmental contamination.•Fe cycling genes were found among the 11 metagenome-assembled genomes.•1 year post-disaster, in the wet season, Doce River still showed abnormal turbidity.