Role and possible mechanisms of earthworm Eisenia fetida in the elimination of microcystin-LR in soil

Bai-Lin LIU, Yan-Wen LI, Jing-Jie GUO, Lei XIANG, Hai-Ming ZHAO, Nai-Xian FENG, Hui LI, Quan-Ying CAI, Ce-Hui MO, Ming Hung WONG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A better understanding of microcystin elimination in soil will boost the development of effective strategies to mitigate associated contamination. This study addressed the role and mechanism by which earthworm Eisenia fetida take part in the elimination of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in soil. The degradation kinetics of MC-LR exhibited good fits with the availability-adjusted first-order kinetic model ( > 0.97), where >71% of the toxin was rapidly eliminated within the initial eight days (t½ = 2.34–3.07 days). E. fetida significantly accelerated MC-LR elimination, with a less t½ of 1.09–1.12 days; however, E. fetida did not further improve the final elimination efficiencies on Day 29 (82.59–93.57% with E. fetida vs. 82.96–92.34% without E. fetida). In soil, E. fetida accelerated MC-LR elimination mainly via biodegradation arising from elevated total organic carbon, enhanced enzyme activities (urease and sucrase) and ameliorations of bacterial bioactivity, diversity and abundance. Indigenous bacteria of Methylophilus and Methylovorus, as well as earthworm-derived Flavobacterium, were considered as potential bacterial degraders for MC-LR. These findings elaborate on the variations in soil properties and soil bacterial community structure and diversity that occurs during MC-LR elimination and lay a foundation for controlling MC-LR contamination in the soil environment. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Article number114980
JournalGeoderma
Volume392
Early online date23 Feb 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 2021

Citation

Liu, B.-L., Li, Y.-W., Guo, J.-J., Xiang, L., Zhao, H.-M., Feng, N.-X., . . . Wong, M. H. (2021). Role and possible mechanisms of earthworm Eisenia fetida in the elimination of microcystin-LR in soil. Geoderma, 392. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.114980

Keywords

  • Microcystin-LR
  • Soil
  • Eisenia fetida
  • Soil bacterial diversity
  • Biodegradation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Role and possible mechanisms of earthworm Eisenia fetida in the elimination of microcystin-LR in soil'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.