Abstract
Ascorbic acid is a bacteriostatic agent; one of the many ways by which ascorbic acid hampers bacterial growth is by the production of hydrogen peroxide, which further converts into hydroxyl free radicals. Certain amino acids can counteract the inhibitory effect of hydroxyl free radicals by checking their oxidizing effect. Though ascorbic acid is bacteriostatic in nature, it facilitates prokaryotic respiration by decarboxylation. This study was carried out to understand how microbes from different horizons of the forest soil respond to the addition of a bacteriostatic agent (ascorbic acid) and growth promoting agent (amino acids), with respect to the soil respiration. We observed that the addition of either ascorbic acid or a combination of it with amino acid consistently results in increased soil respiration, and this increase is different for different soil types depending on soil composition and origin. Furthermore, we also found that beta alanine-induced maximum respiration in basic soils and L-glutamic in acidic soils. This study is significant because it can be used to explain how a strong reducing sugar, i.e., ascorbic acid, affects the soil respiration mediated via soil microbes. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report that demonstrates the effect of bacteriostatic and the growth promoting agent together on microbe-mediated soil respiration.
Highlights
Hydroxyl free radicals are formed due to auto oxidation of ascorbic
It has been established in previous studies that the addition of ascorbic acid leads to an increased soil respiration that could vary depending on soil properties and the organic matter content of soil [29,30,31,32,33]
We conclude that ascorbic acid autoxidizes to form hydroxyl free radicals, which inhibits microbial growth in the soil
Summary
Hydroxyl free radicals are formed due to auto oxidation of ascorbic. These free radicals are lethal to the soil microbial community. Ascorbic acid helps in the regulation of the developmental processes in plants [1,2]. It serves as a cofactor of many enzymes [3,4], such as prolyl and lysyl hydroxylases [5,6]; 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase [7,8,9]; and 2-oxoacid-dependent dioxygenases [3,4]. Ascorbic acid helps in the biosynthesis and signaling of many plant hormones like ethylene, gibberellic acid (GA), and abscisic acid (ABA)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
