PLP Seminar Series featuring Marc Friedman (Bonito lab)
March 17, 2025 1:30PM - 2:30PM
PSSB A271 conference room
Fungal Microbiome of Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) Trees in the Copper Mine Tailing Contaminated Soils of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
ABSRACT
Industrial copper (Cu) mining in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, USA, has left approximately 500 million tons of waste material that is currently covering natural landscapes and leaching and washing into lakes, rivers, and wetlands, at a tremendous cost to society and the environment. Paper birch trees (Betula papyrifera) are a pioneer species that naturally revegetate these barren landscapes of metal-contaminated mine tailings and slag. While Betula is an ectomycorrhizal plant host, it is unknown how fungi of the plants root and soil microbiomes are affected by or contribute to early succession on mine waste. To address this question, five birch trees were sampled at three different metal-contaminated sites and one uncontaminated reference site. Roots and soils were collected from each tree, with additional soil samples collected at points with no trees or vegetation, to compare the microbiome and metal contents. These samples were analyzed for total metal content using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), which determined that metals are being accumulated into the tree roots. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was used to determine metal speciation of Cu2+ in soils because this species of copper is toxic to many microorganisms. Amplicon libraries targeting fungi (ITS1F rDNA) and bacteria (V4 16S rDNA) were generated from the root and soil samples, and sequenced to describe the microorganisms living in these metal-contaminated environments. Calculations of Alpha diversity showed that the soil collected at the trees had greater richness that the roots. Visualizations of the Beta diversity showed that the sample type, site location, and the interaction between these variables were all statically significant. The results of this study provides a description of the root and soil microbiome of paper birch trees growing in copper mine tailings.
Read more about this project here
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