Rhizosphere Microbial Communities and Geochemical Constraining Mechanism of Antimony Mine Waste-Adapted Plants in Southwestern China

Antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As) are two hazardous metalloid elements, and the biogeochemical cycle of Sb and As can be better understood by studying plant rhizosphere microorganisms associated with Sb mine waste. In the current study, samples of three types of mine waste—Sb mine tailing, waste rocks, and smelting slag—and associated rhizosphere microorganisms of adapted plants were collected from Qinglong Sb mine, southwest China. 16S rRNA was sequenced and used to study the composition of the mine waste microbial community. The most abundant phylum in all samples was Proteobacteria, followed by Bacteroidota, Acidobacteriota, and Actinobacteriota. The community composition varied among different mine waste types. Gammaproteobacteria was the most abundant microorganism in tailings, Actinobacteria was mainly distributed in waste rock, and Saccharimonadia, Acidobacteriae, and Ktedonobacteria were mainly present in slag. At the family level, the vast majority of Hydrogenophilaceae were found in tailings, Ktedonobacteraceae, Chthoniobacteraceae, and Acidobacteriaceae (Subgroup 1) were mostly found in slag, and Pseudomonadaceae and Micrococcaceae were mainly found in waste rock. Actinobacteriota and Arthrobacter are important taxa for reducing heavy metal(loid) mobility, vegetation restoration, and self-sustaining ecosystem construction on antimony mine waste. The high concentrations of Sb and As reduce microbial diversity.