SOIL Raw sequence reads

Microorganisms can mediate the toxicity and mobility of arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb). Because As and Sb are geochemically similar, it is generally thought that they exert similar environmental pressures on microbial communities. However, this possibility requires further validation, especially for protistan communities. In this study, the responses of protistan communities to As and Sb contamination were investigated. The results indicated that As and Sb contamination consistently changed the taxonomic and functional (i.e., consumer and phototroph) alpha and beta diversities of protistan communities, while As and Sb exerted different effects on the parasite community. Based on multiple statistical tools, As contamination had a stronger influence on the protistan community than Sb. The ecological networks of highly contaminated sites were less complex but highly positively connected compared to less contaminated sites. High As contamination increased the proportion of consumers and decreased the proportion of phototrophs in ecological networks, while the opposite tendency was observed in Sb contaminated soils. High As and Sb contamination enriched different keystone taxa resistant to As and Sb. These results demonstrate that protistan responses to As and Sb contamination vary, which lays a foundation for in situ bioremediation strategies of As- and Sb-contaminated environments using protists.