Authors: Daniel S Read Marianne Matzke Hyun S Gweon Lindsay K Newbold Laura Heggelund Maria Diez Ortiz Elma Lahive David Spurgeon Claus Svendsen
Publish Date: 2015/04/24
Volume: 23, Issue: 5, Pages: 4120-4128
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 nonnanoparticulate and ionic zinc in the form of zinc chloride on the composition of bacterial communities in soil with a modified pH range from pH 45 to pH 72 We observed strong pHdependent 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 48 and 59 The high pH soil pH 72 was less susceptible to the effects of zinc exposure At the highest doses of zinc 2500 mg/kg dw soil both nano and nonnano 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 communitiesThe NanoFATE Project CPFP 247739 2010–2014 under the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission FP7NMPENV2009 Theme 4 coordinated by C Svendsen wwwnanofateeu and DEFRA project CB0460 are acknowledged for financial support Dr M DiezOrtiz was supported by a Marie Curie IntraEuropean Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme call reference FP7PEOPLE2010IEF 273207 NanoEcotoxicity
Keywords: