Insights into the responses of fungal taxonomy and function to different metal(loid) contamination levels

Jiawen Wang; Ying Chen; Wenran Du; Shanqing Yang; Yifan He; Xiaohui Zhao; Weiling Sun; Qian Chen

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162931

Insights into the responses of fungal taxonomy and function to different metal(loid) contamination levels

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jun 15:877:162931. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162931. Epub 2023 Mar 20.

Authors

Jiawen Wang¹, Ying Chen², Wenran Du², Shanqing Yang³, Yifan He⁴, Xiaohui Zhao⁴, Weiling Sun³, Qian Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China; College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address: wwjjww@pku.edu.cn.
² School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China; College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China.
³ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China.
⁴ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China; School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China.
⁵ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address: qianchen@pku.edu.cn.

PMID: 36934934
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162931

Abstract

Fungi possess prominent tolerance and detoxification capacities in highly metal(loid)-polluted systems, yet little is known about their responding behaviors under different contamination conditions. Here, we systematically investigated the structure and function profiles of fungal communities in an abandoned reservoir mainly contaminated by multiple metal(loid)s such as Al, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, and Cu. This abandoned reservoir consisted of three distinct zones, i.e., Zone I with the shortest deprecation time and the highest metal(loid) contamination; Zone II with the medium deprecation time and medium metal(loid) contamination; and Zone III with the longest abandonment time and the lowest metal(loid)contamination. The lowest pH and the highest contents of OM, TN, and TP were also observed for the high-contamination Zone I, followed by the moderate-contamination Zone II and the low-contamination Zone III. Fungal biodiversity was found to be robust and dominated by many endurable genera in Zone I, and notable cooperative relationships among fungal species facilitated their viability and prosperity under severe metal(loid) contaminations. Differently, the lowest biodiversity and fragile co-occurrence network were identified in Zone II. As metal(loid) contaminations reduced from Zone I to Zone III, dominant fungal functions gradually changed from undefined saprotroph guild to parasites or pathogens of plant-animal (i.e. animal pathogen, endophyte, and plant pathogen). Moreover, metal(loid)s combined with physicochemical properties jointly mediated the fungal taxonomic and functional responses to different metal(loid) contamination levels. Overall, this study not only broadens the understanding of taxonomic and functional repertoires of fungal communities under different metal(loid) contaminated conditions, but also highlights the crucial contributions of specific fungi to bioremediation and management in varying metal(loid)-polluted environments.

Keywords: Function; Fungal community; Metal(loid) contamination; Response; Taxonomy.

MeSH terms

Metals / analysis
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Plants
Soil / chemistry
Soil Pollutants* / analysis

Substances

Metals
Soil Pollutants
Metals, Heavy
Soil