##  [Molecular Identification and Culture of Fungi Native to Heavy Metal Contaminated Kam Kotia Mine](/resource/molecular-identification-and-culture-fungi-native-heavy-metal-contaminated-kam-kotia-mine) 

Organization

[Queen's University](/organization/queens-university)

[Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA)](/organization/canadian-land-reclamation-association-clra)

 

 

Project

[National CLRA Conference Papers](/project/national-clra-conference-papers)

 

Resource Type

[Report](/taxonomy/term/38)

 

 

Author(s)

Jacqueline Weber

Ayooluwa Adurogbangba

Darcy Vaters

Jordan O’Reilly

Ali Khalvati

Matthew Wheeler

Mark Priddle

Sharon Regan

 

 

Original Authors

Jacqueline Weber

Ayooluwa Adurogbangba

Darcy Vaters

Jordan O’Reilly

Ali Khalvati

Matthew Wheeler

Mark Priddle

Sharon Regan

 

 

Resource Date:

2016

 

Page Length

6

 

 

Contaminated soil from the Kam Kotia mine site and comparable uncontaminated soil  
(control treatment) was analyzed by the Queen’s Analytical Services Unit using  
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The copper,  
zinc, arsenic and sulfur content of the soil was much higher in contaminated soil than in  
the control soil analyzed (see Figure 1C). Soil was also collected from the root systems  
of plants at the Kam Kotia mine in Timmins, ON for use in generating trap cultures to  
propagate environmental samples of fungi (see Figure 1A). Trap cultures are used to  
create a microcosm of the soil ecosystem in which environmental conditions are ideal  
for the growth, and later for the sporulation, of plant-associated fungi (see Figure 1B).  
Maize (*Zea mays*) was used as the host plant for our Kam Kotia trap cultures. Fungi  
were cultivated for 3 months with minimal watering to keep the maize alive, but  
stressed, so that fungal symbiosis would be encouraged. After 3 months of trap culture  
cultivation, root sections were harvested, DNA was extracted and the polymerase chain  
reaction (PCR) was performed using primers intended to detect AMF and the resulting  
fragments were subjected to DNA sequencing. The sequences were then aligned with  
the MaarjAM and NCBI genomics databases using a Standard Nucleotide BLAST  
search. Of the ten fragments successfully sequenced, nine were aligned most closely  
with the fungi *Capnobotryella sp*. MA 3612 with a sequence identity of 85% for the  
Internal Transcribed Spacer region. One of the fragments sequenced aligned most  
closely with the fungi *Aureobasidium pullulans* with a sequence identity of 91% for the  
ITS region.