Dibutyl phthalate alters the metabolic pathways of microbes in black soils

Weihui Xu,Xiaosong Zhao,Yunpeng Su,Zhigang Wang,Jin Zeng,Wenjing Chen,Yimin You

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-21030-8

Abstract

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is well known as a high-priority pollutant. This study explored the impacts of DBP on the metabolic pathways of microbes in black soils in the short term (20 days). The results showed that the microbial communities were changed in black soils with DBP. In nitrogen cycling, the abundances of the genes were elevated by DBP. DBP contamination facilitated 3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS) formation, and the gene flux of sulfate metabolism was increased. The total abundances of ABC transporters and the gene abundances of the monosaccharide-transporting ATPases MalK and MsmK were increased by DBP. The total abundance of two-component system (TCS) genes and the gene abundances of malate dehydrogenase, histidine kinase and citryl-CoA lyase were increased after DBP contamination. The total abundance of phosphotransferase system (PTS) genes and the gene abundances of phosphotransferase, Crr and BglF were raised by DBP. The increased gene abundances of ABC transporters, TCS and PTS could be the reasons for the acceleration of nitrogen, carbon and sulfate metabolism. The degrading-genes of DBP were increased markedly in soil exposed to DBP. In summary, DBP contamination altered the microbial community and enhanced the gene abundances of the carbon, nitrogen and sulfur metabolism in black soils in the short term.

Highlights

The grain output from the black soil region accounts for 30% of the national staple food production in China[1]
Compare with 0 d, Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) concentration reduced in all samples of DBP treatment (DBP1, DBP sample 2 (DBP2), DBP sample 3 (DBP3) and DBP sample 4 (DBP4)) for 20 days
These results indicated that the residual rate of DBP was more than 50% at 20 days in black soils

Summary

Introduction

The grain output from the black soil region accounts for 30% of the national staple food production in China[1]. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) bound to the plastics relatively weakly via hydrogen bond or Van der Waals force, and not combine into PVC polymer chain[2]. It can be released into earth surface and groundwater, and is easy to accumulate[3]. Soil microorganisms are a significant part of the earth’s biodiversity and play key roles in carbon metabolism, nitrogen cycling and the overall functioning of an ecosystem[15,16]. We applied metagenomics analysis and real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) to explore the impacts of DBP on the microbial ecology of black soils

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion