Distinctive microbial communities linked with pH and heavy metals in 40 mine drainages across all regions of Japan

Passive treatment using microorganisms is a promising method for removing toxic metals from acid mine drainage (AMD). To provide a better understanding of the compositions of mine microbial communities and their relationship with pH and metal concentrations in mine water, we analyzed both physicochemical data and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences from 40 untreated drainages from abandoned mines across all regions of Japan.