Community composition of samples at different depths of ion-adsorbed rare earth deposits. REE deposit metagenome

Ion adsorption-type rare earth element (REE) deposit is the predominant source of heavy REEs (HREEs) in the world. There is increasing awareness that microorganisms play an important in the formation of ion adsorption-type REE deposits. However, direct evidence for this notion is still lacking. Here we characterized the microbial community composition along a complete weathering profile drilled from Renju, a typical adsorption-type REE deposit located in South China.