Soil bacteria and protists show different sensitivity to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at controlled chemical activity

Anne Winding*, Jakub Jan Modrzyński, Jan H. Christensen, Kristian K. Brandt, Philipp Mayer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study linked growth inhibition of soil bacteria and protists to the chemical activity (a) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and compared the sensitivities of bacteria and protists. Passive dosing from pre-loaded silicone provided well-defined and constant a of PAHs in independent tests. Single-species growth inhibition with two bacterial (Pseuodomonas fluorescens DR54 and Sinorhizobium meliloti) and two protist (Cercomonas longicauda and Acanthamoeba castellanii) strains at maximum a (amax) of nine and four PAHs, respectively, showed no inhibition of PAHs with amax below 0.1 (pyrene and anthracene), while growth inhibition was observed for PAHs with amax above 0.1 (e.g. fluorene, fluoranthene and naphthalene). The bacteria were less sensitive than the protists. Soil bacterial community-level growth inhibition by naphthalene was in good agreement with single-species data, but also indicated the presence of sensitive bacteria that were inhibited by a below 0.05 and increasing pre-exposure time giving higher inhibition. The a of 50% inhibition (Ea50) was 0.434 and 0.329 for 0.5 and 4 h pre-exposure time, respectively. Invertebrates tended to be more sensitive than single-celled organisms tested here. This suggests that PAH exposure leads to differential toxicity in soil biota, which may affect soil food web structure and cycling of organic matter.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberfnz214
JournalFEMS Microbiology Letters
Volume366
Issue17
Number of pages8
ISSN0378-1097
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • bioavailability
  • chemical activity
  • PAH
  • Protista
  • Soil microorganisms
  • toxicity

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Soil bacteria and protists show different sensitivity to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at controlled chemical activity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this