Terrestrial ecotoxicological effects of the antimicrobial agent triclosan.
Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent widely used in many contemporary consumer and health care products. This study assayed phytotoxicity of triclosan using plant growth tests, soil microbial activity using soil respiration and phosphatase activity tests and soil microbial functional diversity using the Biolog ECO plates. The results showed that triclosan inhibited plant growth in soil, with rice seeds being more sensitive than cucumber seeds with EC50 values of 57 and 108 mg/kg. Soil respiration was significantly inhibited in the treatments with triclosan at concentrations more than 10mg/kg (dry soil) during the first 4 days of incubation, but recovered later on after longer incubation. Phosphatase activity was also inhibited for all the soils treated with triclosan (from 0.1 to 50mg/kg dry soil), but a declining inhibition was observed after 2 days of incubation. Biolog analysis found that triclosan treatment increased the utilization of carbon sources and exerted no adverse effects on the functional diversity of soil microbial community.
Liu
Feng
F
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 511 Kehua Street, Tianhe, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510640, China.
Ying
Guang-Guo
GG
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 511 Kehua Street, Tianhe, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510640, China. Electronic address: guangguo.ying@gmail.com.
Yang
Li-Hua
LH
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 511 Kehua Street, Tianhe, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510640, China.
Zhou
Qi-Xing
QX
Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecological Process, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
D000383:Agriculture; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002681:China; D018553:Cucumis sativus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D017753:Ecosystem; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity; D007854:Lead / Q000633:toxicity; D012275:Oryza / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D063245:Plant Development; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D010944:Plants / Q000187:drug effects; D012639:Seeds / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012987:Soil / Q000592:standards; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity; D014260:Triclosan / Q000633:toxicity*
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D007854:Lead; D014260:Triclosan