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Published on: December 19, 2017
Oxygen-supplemented organic matter significantly enhanced microbial antimony mobility in hydrologically dynamic
Weiqi Wang1, Xuan Qiu2, Min Li3
1State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430078, China; School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430078, China; Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, Jiashan, 314100, China; College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Abstract:
Microbial-mediated antimony (Sb) release from stibnite (Sb2S3) threatens groundwater safety, yet how hydrological fluctuations regulate this biogenic process and its mechanism remain poorly understood. This study explored how hydrodynamic variations (simulating organic-oxygen recharge into anoxic aquifers) govern stibnite bio-weathering in Xikuangshan shallow groundwater through microcosms. The results revealed bacterial communities exhibit dual functionality under redox fluctuations: driving biofilm formation in anoxic phases and accelerating Sb release during oxic transitions. The AnH system (Anoxic-oxic-anoxic-oxic cycles with Na-lactate for Heterotrophs) demonstrated a maximum of Sb concentration at 0.63 mM after 16 days, primarily driven by Dechloromonas, Ferribacterium, and Thauera. Microbial metabolic byproduct nitrite activates oxygen to produce H2O2 (maximum of 14.7 μM), which also contributes to the release and oxidation of antimony. Moreover, carbon source affects the pathway of bacterial antimony release. Na-lactate stimulated the expression of aioA (Sb-oxidation) in heterotrophs, while inorganic carbon (Na-bicarbonate) favored soxB (sulfur-oxidation) in autotrophic Thiobacillus and mixotrophic sulfur-oxidizers. In summary, oxygen and carbon sources regulate biofilm formation, aioA and soxB expression, and H₂O₂ generation, subsequently affecting Sb release/oxidation. This study deciphered how oxygen-carbon regimes govern microbial Sb mobilization, elucidating antimony biogeochemical dynamics under hydrological fluctuations.
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