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One-Time Addition of Nano-TiO2 Triggers Short-Term Responses in Benthic Bacterial Communities in Artificial Streams

  • Microbiology of Aquatic Systems
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Abstract

Nano-TiO2 is an engineered nanomaterial whose production and use are increasing rapidly. Hence, aquatic habitats are at risk for nano-TiO2 contamination due to potential inputs from urban and suburban runoff and domestic wastewater. Nano-TiO2 has been shown to be toxic to a wide range of aquatic organisms, but little is known about the effects of nano-TiO2 on benthic microbial communities. This study used artificial stream mesocosms to assess the effects of a single addition of nano-TiO2 (P25 at a final concentration of 1 mg l−1) on the abundance, activity, and community composition of sediment-associated bacterial communities. The addition of nano-TiO2 resulted in a rapid (within 1 day) decrease in bacterial abundance in artificial stream sediments, but bacterial abundance returned to control levels within 3 weeks. Pyrosequencing of partial 16S rRNA genes did not indicate any significant changes in the relative abundance of any bacterial taxa with nano-TiO2 treatment, indicating that nano-TiO2 was toxic to a broad range of bacterial taxa and that recovery of the bacterial communities was not driven by changes in community composition. Addition of nano-TiO2 also resulted in short-term increases in respiration rates and denitrification enzyme activity, with both returning to control levels within 3 weeks. The results of this study demonstrate that single-pulse additions of nano-TiO2 to aquatic habitats have the potential to significantly affect the abundance and activity of benthic microbial communities and suggest that interactions of TiO2 nanoparticles with environmental matrices may limit the duration of their toxicity.

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Acknowledgments

The work described in this study was performed with support from the National Science Foundation (Grant No. CBET-1067439 to JK and Grant No. CBET-1067751 to KG and J-FG) and support from the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (Agreement No. 2006-02560-15). We thank Timothy Hoellein for the assistance with the DEA assay and Bradley Drury for the assistance with artificial stream setup and operation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 West Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA

    Alexandra Ozaki, Erin Adams, Chu Thi Thanh Binh & John J. Kelly

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Tiezheng Tong, Jean-François Gaillard & Kimberly A. Gray

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  1. Alexandra Ozaki
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  2. Erin Adams
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  3. Chu Thi Thanh Binh
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Correspondence to John J. Kelly.

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ESM 1

The supplementary material includes three figures (Figures S1, S2 and S3) that present data for bacterial cell numbers, respiration rates, and denitrification rates for both treatment and control streams. Treatment streams received a single addition of 1 mg l-1 nano-TiO2 (P25) on day 0 and control streams received no nano-TiO2 (PDF 43 kb)

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Ozaki, A., Adams, E., Binh, C.T.T. et al. One-Time Addition of Nano-TiO2 Triggers Short-Term Responses in Benthic Bacterial Communities in Artificial Streams. Microb Ecol 71, 266–275 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-015-0646-z

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