The Role of Grass Compost and Zea Mays in Alleviating Toxic Effects of Tetracycline on the Soil Bacteria Community

Jadwiga Wyszkowska, Agata Borowik and Jan Kucharski
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Jadwiga Wyszkowska: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland
Agata Borowik: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland
Jan Kucharski: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-26

Abstract: Given their common use for disease treatment in humans, and particularly in animals, antibiotics pose an exceptionally serious threat to the soil environment. This study aimed to determine the response of soil bacteria and oxidoreductases to a tetracycline (Tc) contamination, and to establish the usability of grass compost (G) and Zea mays (Zm) in mitigating adverse Tc effects on selected microbial properties of the soil. The scope of microbiological analyses included determinations of bacteria with the conventional culture method and new-generation sequencing method (NGS). Activities of soil dehydrogenases and catalase were determined as well. Tc was found to reduce counts of organotrophic bacteria and actinobacteria in the soils as well as the activity of soil oxidoreductases. Soil fertilization with grass compost (G) and Zea mays (Zm) cultivation was found to alleviate the adverse effects of tetracycline on the mentioned group of bacteria and activity of oxidoreductases. The metagenomic analysis demonstrated that the bacteria belonging to Acidiobacteria and Proteobacteria phyla were found to prevail in the soil samples. The study results recommend soil fertilization with G and Zm cultivation as successful measures in the bioremediation of tetracycline-contaminated soils and indicate the usability of the so-called core bacteria in the bioaugmentation of such soils.

Keywords: antibiotics in soils; microbial community; soil degradation; soil oxidoreductases; compost fertility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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