Mucilaginibacter sp. Strain Metal(loid) and Antibiotic Resistance Isolated from Estuarine Soil Contaminated Mine Tailing from the Fundão Dam

Abstract

In 2015 a mine dam with Mn-Fe-rich tailings collapsed releasing million tons of sediments over an estuary, in the Southwest of Brazil. The tailings have a high concentration of metals that contaminated soil until the present day. The high contaminant concentrations possibly caused a selection for microorganisms able to strive in such harsh conditions. Here, we isolated metal(loid) and anti-biotic resistance bacteria from the contaminated estuarine soil. After 16S rDNA sequencing to identify the strains, we selected the Mucilaginibacter sp. strain for a whole-genome sequence due to the bioprospective potential of the genus and the high resistance profile. We obtained a complete genome and a genome-guided characterization. Our finding suggests that the 21p strain is possibly a new species of the genus. The species presented genes for resistance for metals (i.e., As, Zn, Co, Cd, and Mn) beyond resistance and cross-resistance for antibiotics (i.e., quinolone, aminoglycoside, β-lactamase, sulphonamide, tetracycline). The Mucilaginibacter sp. 21p description as new species should be further explored, as their extracellular polymeric substances and the potential of this strain as bioremediation and as a growth promoter in high met-al(loid) contaminated soil.