Extremely Acidic Eukaryotic (Micro) Organisms

Life in Acid Mine Drainage Polluted Environments—Mini-Review

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15464375
AutoresAna Luís (0000-0001-8650-4514, University of Aveiro, autor de correspondencia), Francisco Córdoba (0000-0002-2009-7992, Universidad de Huelva), Catarina Antunes (University of Aveiro), Raul Loayza-Muro (0000-0002-1312-311X, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), José Grande (Universidad de Huelva), Bruna Silva (0000-0001-7969-9050, University of Aveiro), Jesus Diaz-Curiel (Técnicas y Servicios de Ingeniería (Spain)), Eduardo Ferreira da Silva (0000-0002-3019-8471, University of Aveiro)
Año2021
Volumen19
Número1
Páginas376-376
Fecha de publicación2021-12-30
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditorialMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph19010376
PMID35010636
OpenAlexW4205509320
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas105

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) results from sulfide oxidation, which incorporates hydrogen ions, sulfate, and metals/metalloids into the aquatic environment, allowing fixation, bioaccumulation and biomagnification of pollutants in the aquatic food chain. Acidic leachates from waste rock dams from pyritic and (to a lesser extent) coal mining are the main foci of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) production. When AMD is incorporated into rivers, notable changes in water hydro-geochemistry and biota are observed. There is a high interest in the biodiversity of this type of extreme environments for several reasons. Studies indicate that extreme acid environments may reflect early Earth conditions, and are thus, suitable for astrobiological experiments as acidophilic microorganisms survive on the sulfates and iron oxides in AMD-contaminated waters/sediments, an analogous environment to Mars; other reasons are related to the biotechnological potential of extremophiles. In addition, AMD is responsible for decreasing the diversity and abundance of different taxa, as well as for selecting the most well-adapted species to these toxic conditions. Acidophilic and acidotolerant eukaryotic microorganisms are mostly composed by algae (diatoms and unicellular and filamentous algae), protozoa, fungi and fungi-like protists, and unsegmented pseudocoelomata animals such as Rotifera and micro-macroinvertebrates. In this work, a literature review summarizing the most recent studies on eukaryotic organisms and micro-organisms in Acid Mine Drainage-affected environments is elaborated

Acid mine drainage · Algae · Aquatic ecosystem · Bioaccumulation · Biomagnification · Biota · Extreme environment · Microorganism · Sulfide · Metal Extraction and Bioleaching · Mine drainage and remediation techniques · Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques