In situ enrichment of sulphate-reducing microbial communities with different carbon sources stimulating the acid mine drainage sediments

The applications of sulphate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) in acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment systems have received extensive attention due to their ability to reduce sulphate and adsorb contaminants. Despite the great phylogenetic diversity of SRMs, most SRMs cannot be isolated, and only a few have been used in AMD treatment bioreactors. In situ enrichment in AMD-related environments might be a potentially efficient approach to select new effective SRMs for AMD treatment. Here, we performed in situ enrichment of SRMs in highly stratified AMD sediment cores using different carbon sources.Our study greatly improves the diversity of SRMs that can be enriched in acidic sediment and provides theoretical support for AMD bioremediation.