Metagenomics of mine tailing rhizospheric communities and its selection for plant establishment towards bioremediation.

Mining operations often generate tailing dams that contain toxic residues and are a source of contamination when left unconfined. The establishment of a plant community over the tailings has been proposed as a containment strategy known as phytostabilization. Previously, we described naturally occurring mine tailing colonizing plants such as Acacia farnesiana, Brickellia coulteri, Baccharis sarothroides, and Gnaphalium leucocephalum without finding local adaptation.