Microplastics have been discovered ubiquitously in marine environments. While their accumulation is noted in seagrass ecosystems, little attention has yet been given to microplastic impacts on seagrass plants and their associated epiphytic and sediment communities. We initiate this discussion by synthesizing the potential impacts microplastics have on relevant seagrass plant, epiphyte, and sediment processes and functions. We suggest that microplastics may harm epiphytes and seagrasses via impalement and light/gas blockage, and increase local concentrations of toxins, causing a disruption in metabolic processes. Further, microplastics may alter nutrient cycling by inhibiting dinitrogen fixation by diazotrophs, preventing microbial processes, and reducing root nutrient uptake. They may also harm seagrass sediment communities via sediment characteristic alteration and organism complications associated with ingestion. All impacts will be exacerbated by the high trapping efficiency of seagrasses. As microplastics become a permanent and increasing member of seagrass ecosystems it will be pertinent to direct future research towards understanding the extent microplastics impact seagrass ecosystems.

Contaminated soils are lands in Europe deemed less favourable for conventional agriculture. To overcome the problem of their poor fertility, bio-fertilization could be a promising approach. Soil inoculation with a choice of biological species (e.g. earthworm, mycorrhizal fungi, diazotroph bacteria) can be performed in order to improve soil properties and promote nutrients recycling. However, questions arise concerning the dynamics of the contaminants in an inoculated soil.The aim of this study was to highlight the soil-plant-earthworm interactions in the case of a slightly contaminated soil. For this purpose, a pot experiment in controlled conditions was carried out during 2 months with a Cd, Zn, and Cu contaminated sandy soil, including conditions with or without earthworms (Aporrectodea caliginosa) and with or without plants (Lolium perenne).The three components of the trace element bioavailability were studied to understand the belowground-aboveground relationships and were quantified as followed: i) environmental availability in soils by measuring trace element concentrations in soil solution, ii) environmental bioavailability for organisms by measuring trace element concentrations in depurated whole earthworms bodies and in the plant aerial biomass, and iii) toxicological bioavailability, by measuring survival rate and body weight changes for earthworms and biomass for plants. The results showed that earthworm inoculation increased the content of all studied TE in soil solution. Moreover, lower concentrations of Cd and Zn were found in plants in the presence of earthworms while the bioavailability decreased when compared to the condition without plants. The trace element bioaccumulation in earthworms did not produce a direct toxicity, according to the earthworm survival rate and body weight results.Finally, our pot experiment confirmed that even in contaminated soils, the presence of A. caliginosa promotes plant adaptation and improves biomass production, reducing trace element uptake.

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) for plastic degradation. This study is focused on changes in microbiome structure depending on diets. Microbial community obtained from oat and cellulose diet formed similar group, two kinds of polyethylene formed another group, while polystyrene diet showed the highest dissimilarity. The highest relative abundance of bacteria colonizing gut was in PE-oxodegradable feeding, nevertheless all applied diets were higher in comparison to oat. Dominant phyla consisted of Proteobacteria, Bacteroides, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, however after PS feeding frequency in Planctomycetes and Nitrospirae increased. The unique bacteria characteristic for cellulose diet belonged to Selenomonas, while Pantoea were characteristic for both polyethylene diets, Lactococcus and Elizabethkingia were unique for each plastic diet, and potential diazotropic bacteria were characteristic for polystyrene diet (Agrobacterium, Nitrosomonas, Nitrospira).Enzymatic similarity between oatmeal and cellulose diets, was shown. All three plastics diet resulted in different activity in both, digestive tract and bacteria. The enzymes with the highest activity were included phosphatases, esterases, leucine arylamidase, β-galactosidase, β-glucuronidase, α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, chitinase, α-mannosidase and α-fucosidase. The activity of digestive tract was stronger than cultured gut bacteria. In addition to known polyethylene degradation methods, larvae may degrade polyethylene with esterase, cellulose and oatmeal waste activity is related with the activity of sugar-degrading enzymes, degradation of polystyrene with anaerobic processes and diazotrophs.

Traffic derived nitrogen (N) and heavy metal pollution is a well-known phenomenon, but little explored in otherwise pristine ecosystems such as subarctic tundra. Here, the main source of N input to the ecosystem is via N₂ fixation by moss- and lichen-associated bacteria. While inhibitory effects of N deposition on moss-associated N₂ fixation have been reported, we still lack understanding of the effects of traffic derived N and heavy metal deposition on this ecosystem function in an otherwise pristine setting. To test this, we established a distance gradient (0–1280 m) away from a metal pollution source -a railway transporting iron ore that passes through a subarctic birch forest. We assessed the effects of railway-derived pollution on N₂ fixation associated with two moss species Pleurozium schreberi, Hylocomium splendens and with the lichen Peltigera aphthosa. Deposition and availability of N and heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb) as well as the respective contents in moss, lichen and soil was assessed. While we found a steep gradient in metal concentration in moss, lichen and soil with distance away from the pollution source, N deposition did not change, and with that, we could not detect a distance gradient in moss- or lichen-associated N₂ fixation. Hence, our results indicate that N₂ fixing bacteria are either not inhibited by heavy metal deposition, or that they are protected within the moss carpet and lichen tissue.

Intensive farming practices are typically used for aquaculture. To prevent disease outbreaks, antibiotics are often used to reduce pathogenic bacteria in aquaculture animals. However, the effects of antibiotics on water quality and microbial communities in euryhaline fish culture ponds are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the interactions between sulfamethoxazole (SMX), water quality and microbial communities in milkfish (Chanos chanos) culture ponds. The results of small-scale milkfish pond experiments indicated that the addition of SMX decreased the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and photosynthetic bacteria. Consequently, the levels of ammonia and total phosphorus in the fish pond water increased, causing algal and cyanobacterial blooms to occur. In contrast, the addition of the SMX-degrading bacterial strains A12 and L effectively degraded SMX and reduced the levels of ammonia and total phosphorus in fish pond water. Furthermore, the abundances of AOB, NOB and photosynthetic bacteria were restored, and algal and cyanobacterial blooms were inhibited. This study demonstrate the influences of SMX on water quality and microbial community composition in milkfish culture ponds. Moreover, the use of the bacterial strains A12 and L as dual function (bioaugmentation and water quality maintenance) beneficial bacteria was shown to provide an effective approach for the bioremediation of SMX-contaminated euryhaline milkfish culture ponds.

Microbial communities play vital roles in the biogeochemistry of nutrients in coastal saltmarshes, ultimately controlling water quality, nutrient cycling, and detoxification. We determined the structure of microbial populations inhabiting coastal saltmarsh sediments from northern Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA to gain insight into impacts on the biogeochemical cycles affected by Macondo oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon well blowout two years after the accident. Quantitative PCR directed toward specific functional genes revealed that oiled marshes were greatly diminished in the population sizes of diazotrophs, denitrifiers, nitrate-reducers to ammonia, methanogens, sulfate-reducers and anaerobic aromatic degraders, and harbored elevated numbers of alkane-degraders. Illumina 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that oiling greatly changed the structure of the microbial communities, including significant decreases in diversity. Oil-driven changes were also demonstrated in the structure of two functional populations, denitrifying and sulfate reducing prokaryotes, using nirS and dsrB as biomarkers, respectively. Collectively, the results from 16S rRNA and functional genes indicated that oiling not only markedly altered the microbial community structures, but also the sizes and structures of populations involved in (or regulating) a number of important nutrient biogeochemical cycles in the saltmarshes. Alterations such as these are associated with potential deterioration of ecological services, and further studies are necessary to assess the trajectory of recovery of microbial-mediated ecosystem functions over time in oiled saltmarsh sediment.

A 3-month-long experiment was conducted to ascertain the effects of different concentrations of myclobutanil (0.4 mg kg⁻¹ soil [T1]; 1.2 mg kg⁻¹ soil [T3]; and 4 mg kg⁻¹ soil [T10]) on soil microbial biomass, respiration, and soil nitrogen transformations using two typical agricultural soils (Henan fluvo-aquic soil and Shanxi cinnamon soil). Soil was sampled after 7, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days of incubation to determine myclobutanil concentration and microbial parameters: soil basal respiration (RB), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), NO−3–N and NH+4–N concentrations, and gene abundance of total bacteria, N2-fixing bacteria, fungi, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). The half-lives of the different doses of myclobutanil varied from 20.3 to 69.3 d in the Henan soil and from 99 to 138.6 d in the Shanxi soil. In the Henan soil, the three treatments caused different degrees of short-term inhibition of RB and MBC, NH+4–N, and gene abundance of total bacteria, fungi, N2-fixing bacteria, AOA, and AOB, with the exception of a brief increase in NO−3–N content during the T10 treatment. The MBN (immobilized nitrogen) was not affected. In the Shanxi soil, MBC, the populations of total bacteria, fungi, and N2-fixing bacteria, and NH+4–N concentration were not significantly affected by myclobutanil. The RB and MBN were decreased transitorily in the T10 treatment. The NO−3–N concentrations and the abundance of both AOA and AOB were erratically stimulated by myclobutanil. Regardless of whether stimulation or suppression occurred, the effects of myclobutanil on the two soil types were short term. In summary, myclobutanil had no long-term negative effects on the soil microbial biomass, respiration, and soil nitrogen transformations in the two types of soil, even at 10-fold the recommended dosage.

Silver (Ag) engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are being released into waste streams and are being discharged, largely as Ag2S aged-ENMs (a-ENMs), into agroecosystems receiving biosolids amendments. Recent research has demonstrated that biosolids containing an environmentally relevant mixture of ZnO, TiO2, and Ag ENMs and their transformation products, including Ag2S a-ENMs, disrupted the symbiosis between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and legumes. However, this study was unable to unequivocally determine which ENM or combination of ENMs and a-ENMs was responsible for the observed inhibition. Here, we examined further the effects of polyvinylpyrollidone (PVP) coated pristine Ag ENMs (PVP-Ag), Ag2S a-ENMs, and soluble Ag (as AgSO4) at 1, 10, and 100 mg Ag kg−1 on the symbiosis between the legume Medicago truncatula and the nitrogen-fixing bacterium, Sinorhizobium melliloti in biosolids-amended soil. Nodulation frequency, nodule function, glutathione reductase production, and biomass were not significantly affected by any of the Ag treatments, even at 100 mg kg−1, a concentration analogous to a worst-case scenario resulting from long-term, repeated biosolids amendments. Our results provide additional evidence that the disruption of the symbiosis between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and legumes in response to a mixture of ENMs in biosolids-amended soil reported previously may not be attributable to Ag ENMs or their transformation end-products. We anticipate these findings will provide clarity to regulators and industry regarding potential unintended consequences to terrestrial ecosystems resulting from of the use of Ag ENMs in consumer products.

Nitrogen fixation and its ecological regulation are poorly understood in the tropical estuaries, which are highly influenced by anthropogenic disturbances. In this study, we investigated the role of nutrient stoichiometry in the diversity, abundance and activity of N₂-fixing bacterial community and their seasonal variations in the water column of a tropical eutrophic estuary (Cochin estuary). The N₂ fixation rates in the estuary ranged from 0.1 to 2.0 nmol N₂ l⁻¹ h⁻¹, with higher activity during post-monsoon and lower during monsoon. The rates are appeared to be primarily controlled by dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous (N:P) ratio. Clone library analysis of nitrogenase (nifH) gene revealed that the major N₂ fixing phylotypes belong to Cluster I and Cluster III diazotrophs. The overall findings of this study suggest that monsoon induced seasonal changes in nutrient stoichiometry control the distribution and activity of diazotrophs in a tropical estuary.

Few studies focus on the effects of aluminum (Al) on marine nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, which play important roles in the ocean nitrogen cycling. To examine the effects of Al on the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, bioassay experiments in the oligotrophic South China Sea (SCS) and culture of Crocosphaera watsonii in the laboratory were conducted. Field data showed that 200 nM Al stimulated the growth and the nitrogenase gene expression of Trichodesmium and unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacterium group A, and the nitrogen fixation rates of the whole community. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that Al stimulated the growth and nitrogen fixation of C. watsonii under phosphorus limited conditions. Both field and laboratory results indicated that Al could stimulate the growth of diazotrophs and nitrogen fixation in oligotrophic oceans such as the SCS, which is likely related to the utilization of phosphorus, implying that Al plays an important role in the ocean nitrogen and carbon cycles by influencing nitrogen fixation.