Metagenomic elucidation of microbial sulfur cycling in a model pit lake system

The reclamation and management of tailings generated during bitumen extraction is important to oil sands industries. Using end pit lakes (EPL) is one of the methods for permanent reclamation of tailings. Lake Miwasin is an EPL that was recently established, and it uses a new treatment technology for tailings’ storage. A pilot-scale demonstration pit lake (DPL) was established to assess the effectiveness of the new technology. From our initial assessment of the DPL, bacterial communities involved in sulfur cycle were highly abundant. The activities of these bacteria have both advantages (such as include degradation of organic pollutants from the tailing, inhibition of methanogenesis, and precipitation of heavy metals), and disadvantages (such as production of toxic hydrogen sulfide, and acidification of upper water layers during sulfide oxidation), hence the need to study them. The objective of the study is to carry out metagenomics to corroborate the bacterial community structure data with the functional genes to construct metabolic pathways that may explain the fate of sulfur in the EPL. Furthermore, it is expected that metagenomics will reveal the presence/absence of other biogeochemical cycles that are connected to the sulfur cycle directly or indirectly.

Faculty Supervisor:

Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Student:

Partner:

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Alberta

Program: