Open AccessSediment biomarker, bacterial community characterization of high arsenic aquifers in Jianghan Plain, China
Author(s) -
Hengpeng Ye,
Zeyu Yang,
Xiang Wu,
Jingwen Wang,
Dongyun Du,
Jian Cai,
Kangle Lv,
Huiyun Chen,
Jingkun Mei,
Mengqi Chen,
Hong Du
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep42037
Subject(s) - sediment , environmental chemistry , arsenic , aquifer , environmental science , organic matter , groundwater , microbial population biology , deposition (geology) , acidobacteria , geology , ecology , chemistry , biology , 16s ribosomal rna , bacteria , geomorphology , firmicutes , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
Representative biomarkers (e.g., n -alkanes), diversity and microbial community in the aquifers contaminated by high concentration of arsenic (As) in different sediment depth (0–30 m) in Jianghan Plain, Hubei, China, were analyzed to investigate the potential mechanism of As enrichment in groundwater. The concentration of As was abundant in top soil and sand, but not in clay. The analysis of the distribution of n -alkanes, CPI values, and wax to total n -alkane ratio (Wax(n)%) indicated that the organic matter (OM) from fresh terrestrial plants were abundant in the shallow sediment. However, n -alkanes have suffered from significant biodegradation from the depth of 16 m to 30 m. The deposition of fresh terrestrial derived organic matters may facilitate the release of As from sediment to groundwater in the sediment of 0–16 m. However, the petroleum derived organic matters may do the favor to the release of As in the deeper section of borehole (16 m to 30 m). The 16S rRNA gene sequences identification indicated that Acidobacteria, Actinomycetes and Hydrogenophaga are abundant in the sediments with high arsenic. Therefore, microbes and organic matters from different sources may play important roles in arsenic mobilization in the aquifers of the study area.