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Soil pH effects on the interactions between dissolved zinc, non-nano- and nano-ZnO with soil bacterial communities

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Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are used in an array of products and processes, ranging from personal care products to antifouling paints, textiles, food additives, antibacterial agents and environmental remediation processes. Soils are an environment likely to be exposed to manmade nanoparticles due to the practice of applying sewage sludge as a fertiliser or as an organic soil improver. However, understanding on the interactions between soil properties, nanoparticles and the organisms that live within soil is lacking, especially with regards to soil bacterial communities. We studied the effects of nanoparticulate, non-nanoparticulate and ionic zinc (in the form of zinc chloride) on the composition of bacterial communities in soil with a modified pH range (from pH 4.5 to pH 7.2). We observed strong pH-dependent effects on the interaction between bacterial communities and all forms of zinc, with the largest changes in bacterial community composition occurring in soils with low and medium pH levels (pH 4.8 and 5.9). The high pH soil (pH 7.2) was less susceptible to the effects of zinc exposure. At the highest doses of zinc (2500 mg/kg dw soil), both nano and non-nano particulate zinc applications elicited a similar response in the soil bacterial community, and this differed significantly to the ionic zinc salt treatment. The results highlight the importance of considering soil pH in nanotoxicology studies, although further work is needed to determine the exact mechanisms controlling the toxicity and fate and interactions of nanoparticles with soil microbial communities.

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Acknowledgements

The NanoFATE Project CP-FP 247739 (2010–2014) under the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission (FP7-NMP-ENV-2009, Theme 4) coordinated by C. Svendsen; www.nanofate.eu and DEFRA project CB0460 are acknowledged for financial support. Dr. M. Diez-Ortiz was supported by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (call reference FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 273207 Nano-Ecotoxicity).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK

    Daniel S. Read, Marianne Matzke, Hyun S. Gweon, Lindsay K. Newbold, Laura Heggelund, Maria Diez Ortiz, Elma Lahive, David Spurgeon & Claus Svendsen

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljoevej, building 113, 2800, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark

    Laura Heggelund

  3. LEITAT Technological Center, C/ de la Innovació, 2, 08225, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain

    Maria Diez Ortiz

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  1. Daniel S. Read
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  2. Marianne Matzke
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  3. Hyun S. Gweon
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  4. Lindsay K. Newbold
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  5. Laura Heggelund
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  7. Elma Lahive
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  8. David Spurgeon
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  9. Claus Svendsen
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Correspondence to Daniel S. Read.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Daniel. S. Read and Marianne Matzke are joint first authors.

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Read, D.S., Matzke, M., Gweon, H.S. et al. Soil pH effects on the interactions between dissolved zinc, non-nano- and nano-ZnO with soil bacterial communities. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 4120–4128 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4538-z

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