Bioreactor Raw sequence reads

To investigate passive treatment as a means of remediating Sb contamination, an on-site pilot-scale bioreactor, which had been operated for one year downstream of an active antimony (Sb) mine in Southwest China, was monitored over six months. This bioreactor consisted of five treatment units, including one pre-aerobic cell, two aerobic cells, and two microaerobic cells. With the aerobic cells inoculated with indigenous mine water microflora, the bioreactor removed more than 90% of total soluble Sb and 80% of soluble Sb(III). An increase in pH and decrease of Eh was also observed along the flow direction. High-throughput sequencing of the small subunit ribosomal (SSU) rRNA gene V4 region revealed that a high degree of microbial diversity developed in the bioreactor. Metal (loid)-oxidizing bacteria including Ferrovum, Thiomonas, Gallionella, and Leptospirillum, were highly enriched in the bioreactor cells where the highest total Sb and antimonite (Sb(III)) removal occurred.