Capacity of fatty acid profiles and substrate utilization patterns to describe differences in soil microbial communities associated with increased salinity or alkalinity at three locations in South Australia

Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles, together with Biolog substrate utilization patterns, were used in conjunction with measurements of other soil chemical and microbiological properties to describe differences in soil microbial communities induced by increased salinity and alkalinity in grass/legume pastures at three sites in SE South Australia. Total ester-linked FAMEs (EL-FAMEs) and phospholipid-linked FAMEs (PL-FAMEs), were also compared for their ability to detect differences between the soil microbial communities. The level of salinity and alkalinity in affected areas of the pastures showed seasonal variation, being greater in summer than in winter. At the time of sampling for the chemical and microbiological measurements (winter) only the affected soil at site 1 was significantly saline. The affected soils at all three sites had lower organic C and total N concentrations than the corresponding non-affected soils. At site 1 microbial biomass, CO 2-C respiration and the rate of cellulose decomposition was also lower in the affected soil compared to the non-affected soil. Biomarker fatty acids present in both the EL- and PL-FAME profiles indicated a lower ratio of fungal to bacterial fatty acids in the saline affected soil at site 1. Analysis of Biolog substrate utilization patterns indicated that the bacterial community in the affected soil at site 1 utilized fewer carbon substrates and had lower functional diversity than the corresponding community in the non-affected soil. In contrast, increased alkalinity, of major importance at sites 2 and 3, had no effect on microbial biomass, the rate of cellulose decomposition or functional diversity but was associated with significant differences in the relative amounts of several fatty acids in the PL-FAME profiles indicative of a shift towards a bacterial dominated community. Despite differences in the number and relative amounts of fatty acids detected, principal component analysis of the EL- and PL-FAME profiles were equally capable of separating the affected and non-affected soils at all three sites. Redundancy analysis of the FAME data showed that organic C, microbial biomass, electrical conductivity and bicarbonate-extractable P were significantly correlated with variation in the EL-FAME profiles, whereas pH, electrical conductivity, NH 4-N, CO 2-C respiration and the microbial quotient were significantly correlated with variation in the PL-FAME profiles. Redundancy analysis of the Biolog data indicated that cation exchange capacity and bicarbonate-extractable K were significantly correlated with the variation in Biolog substrate utilization patterns.

Lipopeptides Produced by a Soil Bacillus Megaterium Strain

A soil microorganism identified as Bacillum megaterium was found to produce several antibiotics substances after growth for 20 h at 37A degrees C in a mineral culture medium. Analysis both by electron spray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) identified these substances as lipopeptides. Predominant peaks at m/z 1,041 and m/z 1,065 revealed ions which are compatible with surfactins and lichenysins, respectively. Two other ions m/z 1,057 and m/z 1,464 were further studied by collision-induced dissociation (CID) unveiling an iturin A at the first and fengycins A and B at the second m/z peaks. The CID spectrum of the m/z 1,464 ion also suggests the existence of fengycins A and B variants in which Ile was changed to Val in the position 10 of the peptide moiety. Raw mixtures of all these compounds were also assayed for antibiotic features. The data enlighten the unusual diversity of the lipopeptide mixture produced by a sole Bacillus species.

Effects of cumulative doses of vinasse on soil microorganisms in cerrado

Counts of colony forming units of actinomycetes, bacteria and filamentous fungi were determined in cerrado soil treated with vinasse (processed sugar cane effluent) for 5 yr, using doses of 20 l m-2a-1 and 50 l m-2a-1. A temporary increase in the counts of actinomycetes and bacteria for some months after the addition of vinasse was observed. An increased number of fungi was detected throughout the experiment together with qualitative changes in the population. The most abundant fungi in cerrado soil not treated with vinasse (control soil) were Chaetomium, yeasts, Mucor, Penicillium and Trichoderma, while in vinasse treated soils, the same genera adding Verticillium, with the exception of yeasts, were the most common fungi. -Author

Survival and conjugation of Bacillus thuringiensis in a soil microcosm

The survival and conjugation ability of sporogenic and asporogenic Bacillus thuringiensis strains were investigated in broth, in non-amended sterile clay soil monoculture and in mixed soil culture. The 75 kb pHT73 plasmid carrying an erythromycin resistance determinant and a cry1Ac gene was transferred in mating broth and soil microcosm. Survival of strains was assessed in soil monoculture and in mixed soil culture for up to 20 days. Sporogenic strains rapidly formed viable spores which were maintained until the end of the experiment. The asporogenic strains were no longer recovered after 8 days of incubation. This study shows that the environmental impact of asporogenic B. thuringiensis strains is lower than that of sporogenic B. thuringiensis strains. Thus, the use of asporogenic strains may significantly reduce any potential risk (gene transfer, soil and plant contamination) due to the dissemination of B. thuringiensis-based biopesticides in the environment. Copyright (C) 2000 Federation of European Microbiological Societies.

DDT resistance and transformation by different microbial strains isolated from DDT-contaminated soils and compost materials

Bioremediation is a potential option to treat 1, 1, 1-trichloro-2, 2 bis (4-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT) contaminated sites. In areas where suitable microbes are not present, the use of DDT resistant microbial inoculants may be necessary. It is vital that such inoculants do not produce recalcitrant breakdown products e.g. 1, 1-dichloro-2, 2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE). Therefore, this work aimed to screen DDT-contaminated soil and compost materials for the presence of DDT-resistant microbes for use as potential inoculants. Four compost amended soils, contaminated with different concentrations of DDT, were used to isolate DDT-resistant microbes in media containing 150 mg I -1 DDT at three temperatures (25, 37 and 55°C). In all soils, bacteria were more sensitive to DDT than actinomycetes and fungi. Bacteria isolated at 55°C from any source were the most DDT sensitive. However DDT-resistant bacterial strains showed more promise in degrading DDT than isolated fungal strains, as 1, 1-dichloro 2, 2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDD) was a major bacterial transformation product, while fungi tended to produce more DDE. Further studies on selected bacterial isolates found that the most promising bacterial strain (Bacillus sp. BHD-4) could remove 51% of DDT from liquid culture after 7 days growth. Of the amount transformed, 6% was found as DDD and 3% as DDE suggesting that further transformation of DDT and its metabolites occurred.

黄土丘陵沟壑区不同土地利用模式对土壤酶活性和土壤微生物影响研究

对黄土丘陵沟壑地区不同土地利用模式土壤酶活性和土壤微生物进行了测定,研究了土壤酶活性、微生物与土壤主要肥力指标对黄土丘陵沟壑地区不同土地利用模式下土壤肥力质量的关系。结果表明,不同土地利用模式0~20 cm土壤酶活性之间差异明显,而20~40 cm不同土地利用模式之间土壤酶活性差异较小,研究区域不同土地利用模式土壤微生物数量差距较大。本研究利用因子分析法来分析不同土地利用方式土壤酶活性、土壤微生物数量和土壤主要肥力指标,并根据各因子之间综合得分得出:日光温室的土壤肥力效益最好,然后依次为农田、拱棚、经济作物、果园。

氮肥缺失对旱地土壤细菌群落多样性的影响

本文旨在研究氮肥缺失对旱地土壤细菌群落多样性的影响。采用直接提取土壤微生物总DNA的方法,对不施肥(CK)、适量施肥(F1)、和缺氮施肥(F2)3种不同施肥水平土样DNA进行提取,扩增细菌16S rDNA基因片段,建立克隆文库。用限制性内切酶HhaI和RsaI进行PCR-RFLP分析,分别得到146、187、11个酶切类型。采用α多样性的测度对试验结果进行分析统计结果表明,不同处理间土壤细菌的多样性(H′、Ds和Dg)和物种丰富度(dMa、R2和E)均为F1>CK>F2;λ、dMa、E和H′指数在不同施肥处理间的变异系数达到56.96%~163.1%,尤其Simpson指数λ是非常敏感的指标,处理间的差异最大,表明氮肥缺失严重影响土壤细菌群落多样性,合理施肥有利于土壤细菌的多样性。

稠油污染土壤生物修复的微生物筛选及工艺调控

稠油组分非常复杂，胶质沥青质含量较高，使稠油污染土壤的生物修复难度很大。对稠油中胶质沥青质分的降解是彻底修复稠油污染土壤的关键。试验中利用辽河油田污染土壤中筛选并纯化出来的几株细菌、真菌和放线菌，以胶质沥青质作为碳源，考察不同菌株处理的去除率变化。发现0d-14d期间是微生物去除胶质沥青质的活跃期，42d之后土壤中胶质沥青质的减少趋缓，是生物修复的转折点。筛选出优势降解菌株：细菌22B；真菌中F2006、F2008、F9902，放线菌A2013、A2016混合菌F2006+22B、F6＋22B。同时考查了表面活性剂吐温-80对菌株去除胶质沥青质能力的影响，发现吐温-80对不同菌株有促进或抑制作用。利用上述优势菌株处理5ryn稠油污染土壤，并在42d时，通过采取补加菌液、添加N、P营养物质和添加碳源处理来提高微生物对土壤中稠油的去除能力。经过56天的处理，细菌22B对稠油的去除率最高，达27．420＆；混合菌的去除率在23.64％-26.24％。比较三种处理措施对微生物降解稠油能力的影响时，发现不同菌株对这三种措施的反应并不相同。同时土壤中残留石油烃的族分析证实了土壤中的重质成分是可以被微生物降解的；而稠油污染土壤中的烷烃和芳香烃的含量则呈现动态变化。稠油污染土壤的生物修复后的毒性检验表明，不同菌株处理土壤的毒性因选择的菌株及采取的措施不同而异，其中土壤毒性最小的是22B添加碳源处理；毒性最强的是F2008加菌处理。补加菌液、添加营养和碳源措施会使微生物对稠油降解能力有所加强，但是也加速了某些微生物产生毒性较稠油更大的中间产物的生成，使土壤更加不适合植物的生长。本研究从辽河油田污染土壤中筛选出石油烃降解菌株，对稠油中最难降解的胶质沥青质进行处理，从中选择优势的降解菌株对稠油污染土壤进行生物修复，为稠油污染土壤的生物修复打下理论基础。

水分梯度上不同灌木生长对干旱河谷土壤理化和生物学性质的影响

岷江上游干旱河谷区水土流失强烈，地质灾害频繁，生态环境十分脆弱，而土壤条件恶劣（水分不足和养分缺乏）是阻碍该区植被恢复的关键因子，因此研究水分和乡土灌木生长对土壤的影响对该区的生态恢复具有指导意义。本文通过定点模拟实验，选取三种优势豆科灌木为研究对象，分别是白刺花（Sophora davidii）、小马鞍羊蹄甲（Bauhinia faberi var. microphylla）和小雀花（Campylotropics polyantha），设置5 个水分梯度，分别为100%、80%、60%、40%和20%田间持水量（FC），对栽种植物与不种植物下土壤理化性质和酶活性进行测定分析，系统比较和研究了不同水分条件和不同乡土灌木生长对干旱河谷区土壤结构、养分循环、酶活性以及微生物量的影响。主要结果如下：1. 无论生长植物与否，土壤的毛管持水量和毛管孔隙度都随着水分含量的减少而降低，最大持水量、总孔隙度和容重变化不大，相应地，土壤中的非毛管孔隙随含水量的减少而升高。各水分条件下，种植植物的毛管持水量和毛管孔隙度低于无植物生长的土壤，非毛管孔隙度相应地高于无植物土壤。土壤含水量在100%－40% FC 时，三种豆科灌木的毛管持水量和毛管孔隙度存在差异，而20% FC 条件下，三种豆科灌木土壤的物理性质基本相同。2. 水分胁迫影响土壤中养分的矿化和积累，主要表现在降低了水溶性碳和铵态氮的含量，中等程度胁迫时（60% FC）促进了有机碳和硝态氮的富集，对速效钾和有效磷没有明显作用。种植豆科灌木后各水分梯度上都增加了有机碳、铵态氮、速效钾和有效磷的积累。增加程度上三种豆科灌木间有一定差异，对于土壤有机碳总量，种植白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲明显高于小雀花，同样的情况还出现在铵态氮和速效钾上，但是对于有效磷，种植小雀花后的增加程度则明显高于白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲。种植豆科灌木不仅增加了土壤养分的相对含量，也改变了其在水分梯度上的变化趋势及其变化幅度，这种作用主要体现在碳元素和氮元素上。3. 无植物生长时脲酶活性随水分含量的减少而升高，水分胁迫对磷酸酶和过氧化氢酶的作用不显著，蔗糖酶也保持在相对较高的水平。种植植物后，蔗糖酶、磷酸酶活性与无植物时相比有较大幅度的提高，种植白刺花的脲酶活性也升高，其升高的程度在不同水分含量时不同。种植植物还降低了酶活性在水分梯度上的变幅，使之在水分梯度间的差异显著性降低。脲酶活性在指示土壤性质改变方面是较敏感的指标，其它三种酶在不同植物间的差异不明显。4. 在无植物生长时，中等程度的水分胁迫（60% FC）提高了土壤微生物量碳含量，过高或过低的土壤水分均不利于微生物碳的积累。种植小马鞍羊蹄甲后微生物量碳在水分梯度上的变化趋势与无植物生长时一致，而种植白刺花和小雀花后微生物量碳随着水分含量的减少而降低。不同种类植物的微生物量碳在水分梯度上的变化特征也不同，100% FC 条件下三种植物间没有差异，80%和60% FC 条件下小马鞍羊蹄甲显著高于白刺花和小雀花，40%和20% FC 条件下白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲也显著高于小雀花，说明不同种类植物随着干旱胁迫程度的加深微生物量碳的降低幅度不同，在极度干旱时，白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲土壤依然保持了较高的微生物活性，而小雀花土壤微生物量则明显下降。The dry valley of the upper reaches of the Minjiang River is seriously degradedmountain ecosystem. It was endangered by extremely soil lost and frequentlygeological disaster. Previous studies showed that short of water and nutrients in soilwas the principal limiting factors of vegetation restoration in this area. The typical soiland three dominant leguminous shrubs Sophora davidii, Bauhinia faberi var.microphylla and Campylotropics polyantha in upper reaches of arid Minjiang Rivervalley were considered as experimental material. Two-month old seedlings of eachspecies were exposed to five water supplies (100%, 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% waterfield capacity (FC)) in a temperature and light-controlled greenhouse. Afterthree-month water treatment, soil physiochemical variables and soil microbialactivities were determined by conventional methods. The main results showed that:1. Soil capillary capacity and capillary porosity decreased along water supplyregimes in all treatments, while saturated water capacity, total porosity and bulkdensity kept in a relatively stable level, as a result, the non-capillary porosity andcapacity increased with decrease of water supply. Compared to non-planted soil, theplant-soil systems had a higher non-capillary porosity and capacity, suggestingappropriate oxygen was present in soil to maintain the living of microorganism. Soilof three type shrub species shared the same capillary capacity and capillary porosityunder 20% FC.2. Water soluble carbon and NH4+-N decreased in response to water stress, whiletotal organic carbon and NO3--N promoted by moderate water stress and inhibited by 100% and 20% FC. Total organic carbon, NH4+-N, rapidly available K and availableP increased after the planting of leguminous shrubs in five water supply regimescompared to non-planted soil. For TOC, NH4+-N and rapidly available K, thepromotion effect was higher in S. davidii and B. faberi var. microphylla than C.polyantha planted soil, while available P displayed the opposite side. The planting ofshrubs also reduced the variance of observed traits along water supply gradients.3. Drought stress increased urease activity in non-planted soil, while insignificantdifferences were observed in phosphatase and catalase activity among five watersupply regimes. The planting of leguminous shrubs facilitated the β-glucosidase andphosphatase activity compared to the non-planted soil. It also reduced the variance ofenzyme activity along water supply gradients. Urease was more sensitive to waterstress than other three enzymes.4. Soil water content significantly affected microbial biomass carbon andCmic:Corg. S. davidii and B. faberi var. microphylla showed more drought toleranceability than C. polyantha, attributing not only to their relatively smaller variance ofmicrobial biomass carbon along soil water supply gradients, but also to the highlevel of microbial activity under severe water stress. S. davidii and B. faberi var.microphylla benefited reproduction of soil microorganism at 60%-80% FC, whilesevere drought limited it due to the competition of water and nutrients between plantand soil microorganism.

Non-labile plant C contributes to long-lasting macroaggregation of an Oxisol

Decomposition of plant material influences soil aggregation dynamics in ways that are still poorly understood, especially for Oxisols, in which oxides are believed to play a dominant role. In an incubation experiment, we investigated (i) the effect of plant material addition from selected monocot and dicot species on soil organic C (SOC), carbohydrate composition, fungal and total microbial biomass, and aggregation of an Oxisol; and (ii) the relationship among these properties and C mineralization patterns. The experiment was carried out at 25 °C for 180 d after addition of 11 plant materials (4 g C kg-1 soil) and a control (no plant material added). Mineralization of C during the incubation was described considering two pools of C (labile and non-labile) using a first-order plus linear fitting. Compared to the control, corn materials showed larger pentose input, greater mineralization rates for the non-labile C pool (k), greater soil pentose content (xylose + arabinose) and larger mean weight diameter of soil water-stable aggregates at 180 d of incubation. These effects were independent of changes in SOC content, suggesting that total C accrual and macroaggregation may be decoupled processes in this Oxisol. Our results support the hypothesis that the non-labile plant C pool contributes to the long-lasting stability of macroaggregates of this Oxisol and that this effect is mediated by plant and soil pentoses. We propose that plant pentose content and the decomposition rate of the slow pool (k) are useful parameters for the prediction of plant effects on aggregation dynamics of Oxisols and the selection of soil conservation practices. © 2012.

Efeitos de herbicidas na microbiota do solo em sistema fechado

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Metabolism of a monoterpene alcohol, linalool, by a soil pseudomonad

A microorganism of the genus Pseudomonas has been isolated from the soil by enrichment culture techniques with linalool(I) as the sole source of carbon and energy. The organism is also capable of utilizing limonene, citronellol, and geraniol as substrates but fails to grow on citral, critranellal, and 1,8-cineole. Fermentation of linalool by this bacterium in a mineral salt medium results in the formation of 10-hydroxylinalool(II), oleuropeic acid (IX), 2-vinyl-2-methyl-5-hydroxyisopropyl-tetraphydrofuran)linalool oxide, V), 2-vinyl-2-methyl-tetrahydrofuran-5-one(unsaturated lactone, VI), and few unidentified minor metabolities. Probable pathways for the biodegradation of linalool are presented.

The influence of injection conditions and soil types on soil improvement by microbial functions

Research has begun on Microbial Carbonate Precipitation (MCP), which shows promise as a soil improvement method because of its low carbon dioxide emission compared to cement stabilized agents. MCP produces calcium carbonate from carbonates and calcium in soil voids through ureolysis by "Bacillus Pasteurii". This study focuses on how the amount of calcium carbonate precipitation is affected by the injection conditions of the microorganism and nutrient salt, such as the number of injections and the soil type. Experiments were conducted to simulate soil improvement by bio-grouting soil in a syringe. The results indicate that the amount of precipitation is affected by injection conditions and soil type, suggesting that, in order for soil improvement by MCP to be effective, it is necessary to set injection conditions that are in accordance with the soil conditions. © 2011 ASCE.

The analysis of ranked observations of soil structure using indicator geostatistics

Structure is an important physical feature of the soil that is associated with water movement, the soil atmosphere, microorganism activity and nutrient uptake. A soil without any obvious organisation of its components is known as apedal and this state can have marked effects on several soil processes. Accurate maps of topsoil and subsoil structure are desirable for a wide range of models that aim to predict erosion, solute transport, or flow of water through the soil. Also such maps would be useful to precision farmers when deciding how to apply nutrients and pesticides in a site-specific way, and to target subsoiling and soil structure stabilization procedures. Typically, soil structure is inferred from bulk density or penetrometer resistance measurements and more recently from soil resistivity and conductivity surveys. To measure the former is both time-consuming and costly, whereas observations made by the latter methods can be made automatically and swiftly using a vehicle-mounted penetrometer or resistivity and conductivity sensors. The results of each of these methods, however, are affected by other soil properties, in particular moisture content at the time of sampling, texture, and the presence of stones. Traditional methods of observing soil structure identify the type of ped and its degree of development. Methods of ranking such observations from good to poor for different soil textures have been developed. Indicator variograms can be computed for each category or rank of structure and these can be summed to give the sum of indicator variograms (SIV). Observations of the topsoil and subsoil structure were made at four field sites where the soil had developed on different parent materials. The observations were ranked by four methods and indicator and the sum of indicator variograms were computed and modelled for each method of ranking. The individual indicators were then kriged with the parameters of the appropriate indicator variogram model to map the probability of encountering soil with the structure represented by that indicator. The model parameters of the SIVs for each ranking system were used with the data to krige the soil structure classes, and the results are compared with those for the individual indicators. The relations between maps of soil structure and selected wavebands from aerial photographs are examined as basis for planning surveys of soil structure. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recovery of soil microbiological properties in a degraded area planted with Corymbia citriodora and Leucaena leucocephala

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)