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Effects of metal oxide nanoparticles on soil enzyme activities and bacterial communities in two different soil types

  • Soils, Sec 5 • Soil and Landscape Ecology • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

With the increased availability of nanoparticle-based products, their releases to soil are undoubtedly inevitable. Among the nanoparticle-based products, potential risks of metal oxide nanoparticles (MO-ENPs) have attracted increasing concerns. However, their effects on soil and soil microorganisms remain largely unknown.

Materials and methods

In this study, four metal oxide nanoparticles, i.e., zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO), titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO2), cerium dioxide nanoparticles (nCeO2), and magnetite nanoparticles (nFe3O4), were enrolled to evaluate their impact on soil enzyme activities (invertase, urease, catalase, and phosphatase) and bacterial communities in two typical soils from northeast China (black soil and saline-alkali soil). The community structure and size were analyzed using pyrosequencing and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The soils were exposed to metal oxide nanoparticles at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg g−1 for 15 and 30 days.

Results and discussion

In general, nZnO had a stronger effect on soil enzymatic activities than nTiO2, nCeO2, and nFe3O4, and saline-alkali soil was more susceptible to metal oxide nanoparticles than black soil. In RT-PCR analysis, a significant decrease (41.66, 36.34, and 47.99%, respectively) on total bacteria population was only observed in saline-alkali soil treated by 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg g−1 nZnO. Meanwhile, pyrosequencing analysis revealed that the samples of saline-alkali soil treated with nZnO showed high variance in their bacterial community composition, e.g., Bacilli, Alphaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria class.

Conclusions

The results suggested that metal oxide nanoparticle incubation could influence soil enzyme activities and change soil bacterial community. Moreover, the soil type was a key component dictating the effect of metal oxide nanoparticles on the bacterial community composition and size. These findings are of great help towards building a comprehensive understanding of the potential environmental risks of metal oxide nanoparticles.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China (2014DFA31740).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE and Institute of Genetics & Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China

    Tingting You, Jing Chen, Zhongzhou Yang, Runzhi Dou, Xiang Gao & Li Wang

  2. School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China

    Dandan Liu

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  1. Tingting You
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  2. Dandan Liu
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  3. Jing Chen
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  4. Zhongzhou Yang
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  5. Runzhi Dou
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  6. Xiang Gao
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  7. Li Wang
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Correspondence to Xiang Gao or Li Wang.

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Responsible editor: Jizheng He

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You, T., Liu, D., Chen, J. et al. Effects of metal oxide nanoparticles on soil enzyme activities and bacterial communities in two different soil types. J Soils Sediments 18, 211–221 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1716-2

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