Metal Toxicity Affects Fungal and Bacterial Activities in Soil Differently

Author:

Rajapaksha R. M. C. P.12,Tobor-Kapłon M. A13,Bååth E.1

Affiliation:

1. Department of Microbial Ecology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden

2. Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

3. Alterra, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although the toxic effect of heavy metals on soil microorganism activity is well known, little is known about the effects on different organism groups. The influence of heavy metal addition on total, bacterial, and fungal activities was therefore studied for up to 60 days in a laboratory experiment using forest soil contaminated with different concentrations of Zn or Cu. The effects of the metals differed between the different activity measurements. During the first week after metal addition, the total activity (respiration rate) decreased by 30% at the highest level of contamination and then remained stable during the 60 days of incubation. The bacterial activity (thymidine incorporation rate) decreased during the first days with the level of metal contamination, resulting in a 90% decrease at the highest level of contamination. Bacterial activity then slowly recovered to values similar to those of the control soil. The recovery was faster when soil pH, which had decreased due to metal addition, was restored to control values by liming. Fungal activity (acetate-in-ergosterol incorporation rate) initially increased with the level of metal contamination, being up to 3 and 7 times higher than that in the control samples during the first week at the highest levels of Zn and Cu addition, respectively. The positive effect of metal addition on fungal activity then decreased, but fungal activity was still higher in contaminated than in control soil after 35 days. This is the first direct evidence that fungal and bacterial activities in soil are differently affected by heavy metals. The different responses of bacteria and fungi to heavy metals were reflected in an increase in the relative fungal/bacterial ratio (estimated using phospholipid fatty acid analysis) with increased metal load.

Publisher

American Society for Microbiology

Subject

Ecology,Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,Food Science,Biotechnology

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3