Ecological effects of the combined pollution associated with e-waste recycling on the composition and diversity of soil microbial communities

The releases of heavy metals and persistent organic compounds associated with crude processing of electronic waste (e-waste) have led to serious contamination in soils. While microorganisms may play a key role in remediation of the contaminated soils, the ecological effects of combined pollution on the composition and diversity of microbial communities remain unknown. In this study, a suite of e-waste contaminated soils were collected from Guiyu, Guangdong Province, China, and the indigenous microbial assemblages were analyzed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and clone library analysis.