Cucurbita spp. and Cucumis sativus enhance the dissipation of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners by stimulating soil microbial community development.
A number of Cucurbita species have the potential to extract polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from soil, but their impact on the soil microbial communities responsible for PCB degradation remains unclear. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of three Cucurbita and one Cucumis species on PCB dissipation and soil microbial community structure. Compared to the unplanted control, enhanced losses of PCBs (19.5%-42.7%) were observed in all planted soils. Cucurbita pepo and Cucurbita moschata treatments were more efficient in PCB dissipation, and have similar patterns of soil phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and PCB congener profiles. Cucurbita treatments tend to have higher soil microbial biomass than Cucumis. Gram-negative (G(-)) bacteria were significantly correlated with PCB degradation rates (R(2) = 0.719, p < 0.001), while fungi and G(-) bacteria were correlated with dissipation of the penta homologue group (R(2) = 0.590, p < 0.01). Therefore, Cucurbita related soil microorganisms could play an important role in remediation of PCB contaminated soils.
College of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Subtropical Soil and Plant Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; School of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an 311300, China.
Hua
H
Qin
Philip C
PC
Brookes
Jianming
J
Xu
D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018553:Cucumis sativus / Q000378:metabolism*; D028464:Cucurbita / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000378:metabolism; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000378:metabolism*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*
D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Biodegradation; Congener profile; Cucurbit; Phospholipid fatty acids; Redundancy analysis