Insights on the freshwater microbiomes metabolic changes associated with the world's largest mining disaster

Abstract

To evaluate the impacts of the Fundão tailings dam failure (Minas Gerais, Brazil) on water quality of the Doce River, we analyzed metagenomics and physicochemical parameters during the month of the disaster and again 6 and 10 months after the disaster. To compare dam conditions before and after the failure, we performed a meta-analysis of physicochemical data from a public database. Immediately after the failure, suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Doce River was 225-1877 mg L^-1. Turbidity and dissolved aluminum and iron concentrations were extremely high, whereas dissolved oxygen was below Brazilian legislation norm (<5 mg L^-1) in several locations. Six months later, physicochemical values were below thresholds set by Brazilian guidelines (e.g., SPM = 8-166 mg L^-1). Short-term impacts on microbial communities included an increase in Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes and gene sequences related to microbial virulence, motility, respiration, membrane transport, iron and nitrogen metabolism, suggesting changes in microbial metabolic profiles. The 11 recovered partial genomes from metagenomes (MAGs) had genes related to Fe cycle and metal resistance.

Keywords: Biomarker; Doce River; Fundão dam; Metagenomics; Mining disaster; Water quality.