Bacterial diversity and community structure in acid mine drainage from Dabaoshan Mine, China

Three samples of acid mine drainage (AMD) collected from Dabaoshan Mine (Guangdong Province, China) were studied. In addition to physico-chemical analyses, bacterial diversities and community structures of these samples were described at genetic level by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). A total of 60 different ARDRA patterns were obtained from 377 clones and were studied as operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which were re-amplified and sequenced. The sequence data and phylogenetic analysis showed that Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans represented 88.0% of the bacterial population in Sample LC. However, Samples JX and FS contained more diverse colonies of bacteria, such as Leptospirillum ferrooxidans (JX: 16.9%, FS: 39.1%), Acidiphilum sp. (JX: 38.7%, FS: 25.8%) and A. ferrooxidans (JX: 12.1%, FS: 10.2%). These diversities were characterized by the reciprocal of Simpson's index (1/D) and correlated with the concentrations of ferrous iron and toxic ions in AMD.