近日，加拿大英属哥伦比亚大学Sean A. Crowe团队研究了硫化铜矿化微生物指标与检测。这一研究成果于2025年6月30日发表在《地质学》杂志上。

社会的快速电气化正在推动对关键矿物和金属的前所未有的需求，因此需要新的策略和技术来寻找可能埋在土壤和耕作下的沉积物。研究组表明，土壤微生物群落在受控培养中对铜（Cu）的修饰有反应，通过DNA扩增子测序和群落指纹图谱可以检测到物种水平的变化。对已知斑岩铜矿化的现场测试揭示了埋藏在广泛第四纪覆盖层下的硫化铜矿化附近微生物群落组成的表面异常。 

在实验和现场数据集中确定的指示物种定义了一个与已知矿化程度紧密一致的强表面信号，优于传统的地球化学方法。这些发现表明，微生物群落指纹可以检测覆盖地形中的斑岩型铜矿化，为关键矿产勘探提供了一种新的基于DNA测序的工具。

附：英文原文

Title: Microbial indicators and detection of Cu-sulfide ore mineralization

Author: Bianca P. Iulianella Phillips, Rachel L. Simister, Shane D. Rich, Craig J.R. Hart, Peter A. Winterburn, Sean A. Crowe

Issue&Volume: 2025-06-30

Abstract: The rapid electrification of society is driving unprecedented demand for critical minerals and metals, necessitating new strategies and technologies to find deposits likely buried under soil and till. We show that soil microbial communities respond to copper (Cu) amendment in controlled incubations, with species-level shifts detectable via DNA amplicon sequencing and community fingerprinting. Field testing above known porphyry Cu mineralization reveals surface anomalies in microbial community composition in close proximity to Cu-sulfide mineralization buried beneath extensive Quaternary cover. Indicator species identified in both experimental and field data sets define a strong surface signal that closely aligns with the known extent of mineralization, outperforming traditional geochemical approaches. These findings demonstrate that microbial community fingerprints can detect porphyry-style Cu mineralization in covered terrains, offering a novel DNA sequencing-based tool for critical mineral exploration.

DOI: 10.1130/G53118.1

Source: https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/doi/10.1130/G53118.1/659279/Microbial-indicators-and-detection-of-Cu-sulfide