A Comparative Study of the Microbial Communities Between the Mineral Surface and the Bioleaching Solution Using the Microarray Method

In order to explore the bioleaching mechanism and improve the bioleaching efficiency,the micro-bial community in the bioleaching solution was compared with that on the surface of minerals based on the microarray analysis.Meanwhile,the elements composition in the bioleaching solution was analyzed using the ICP-AES method.Results showed that there was a high concentration of S and Cu in the leaching solution which up to 2 380 mg/L and 1 378 mg/L,respectively,after continuously bioleaching of copper-ore concen-trate for 30 days by a mixed culture associated with 12 species of bioleaching microorganisms.Based on the data of microarray,the total of cell number in the surface of minerals was far higher than that in the bi-oleaching solution.Furthermore,the dominant communities on the surface of minerals,such as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans,Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and Acidithiobacillus caldus,were similar to that in the bioleaching solution.However,the relative level of some bacteria,such as Sulfobacillus aci-dophilus and Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans,showed great discrepancy with lower presence in the bi-oleaching solution with respect to the mineral surface.

Element cycling in the dominant plant community in the Alpine tundra zone of Changbai Mountains, China

Element cycling in the dominant plant communities including Rh. aureum, Rh. redowskianum and Vaccinium uliginosum in the Alpine tundra zone of Changbai Mountains in northeast China was studied. The results indicate that the amount of elements from litter decomposition was less than that of the plant uptake from soil, but that from plant uptake was higher than that in soil with mineralization process released. On the other hand, in the open system including precipitation input and soil leaching output, because of great number of elements from precipitation into the open system, the element cycling(except N, P) in the Alpine tundra ecosystem was in a dynamic balance. In this study, it was also found that different organ of plants had significant difference in accumulating elements. Ca, Mg, P and N were accumulated more obviously in leaves, while Fe was in roots. The degree of concentration of elements in different tissues of the same organ of the plants also was different, a higher concentration of Ca, Mg, P and N in mesophyll than in nerve but Fe was in a reversed order. The phenomenon indicates (1) a variety of biochemical functions of different elements, (2) the elements in mesophyll were with a shorter turnover period than those in nerve or fibre, but higher utilization rate for plant. Therefore, this study implies the significance of keeping element dynamic balance in the alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountains.