Assessment of the impact of three pesticides on microbial dynamics and functions in a lab-to-field experimental approach

The toxicity of pesticides on soil microorganisms is as an emerging area of concern. Novel and well-standardized tools could be now used to provide a robust assessment of the ecotoxicity of pesticides on soil microorganisms. We followed a tiered lab-to-field approach to assess the toxicity of three...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The Science of the total environment Vol. 637-638; pp. 636 - 646
Main Authors:	Karas, P.A., Baguelin, C., Pertile, G., Papadopoulou, E.S., Nikolaki, S., Storck, V., Ferrari, F., Trevisan, M., Ferrarini, A., Fornasier, F., Vasileiadis, S., Tsiamis, G., Martin-Laurent, F., Karpouzas, D.G.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-10-2018 Elsevier
Subjects:	Ammonia Ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms Archaea Bacteria Chlorpyrifos Environmental risk assessment Isoproturon Life Sciences Nitrification Oxidation-Reduction Pesticides - toxicity Pesticides soil microbial toxicity Soil Soil Microbiology Tebuconazole Toxicity Tests TCP Ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms CHL IPU AcP AlkP EFSA Chit AOA AOB AryS AMC DD-IPU Pesticides soil microbial toxicity MUF MD-IPU Chlorpyrifos PiroP ISO Tebuconazole Isoproturon Bgluc SOB TBZ Environmental risk assessment TPs BisP Leu
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Summary:	The toxicity of pesticides on soil microorganisms is as an emerging area of concern. Novel and well-standardized tools could be now used to provide a robust assessment of the ecotoxicity of pesticides on soil microorganisms. We followed a tiered lab-to-field approach to assess the toxicity of three pesticides, widely used at EU level, (chlorpyrifos (CHL), isoproturon (IPU) and tebuconazole (TBZ)) on (i) the abundance of 11 microbial taxa and 8 functional microbial groups via q-PCR and (ii) the activity of enzymes involved in biogeochemical cycles via fluorometric analysis. Correlation of microbial measurements with the concentration of pesticides, and their transformation products (TPs) in soil enabled the identification of the compounds driving the effects observed. At lab tests (×1, ×2 and ×10 the recommended dose), CHL and TBZ significantly reduced the relative abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) which recovered by the end of the study, while all pesticides induced a persistent reduction in the relative abundance of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB). The two demethylated metabolites of IPU (MD-IPU and DD-IPU) adversely affected P-cycling enzymes and leucine aminopeptidase (Leu). At field tests (×1, ×2 and ×5 the recommended dose), a persistent reduction on the relative abundance of AOA was induced by all pesticides, but only CHL and its hydrolysis product 3,5,6 trichloro-2-pyridynol (TCP) soil levels were negatively correlated with AOA relative abundance. Our findings suggest that ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms constitute the most responsive microbial group to pesticides and could be potential candidates for inclusion in pesticide risk assessment. [Display omitted] •The soil microbial toxicity of CHL, IPU, TBZ and their TPs was determined in a lab-to-field assay.•Pesticides did not induce extensive toxicity to the soil microbial community.•Functional microbial groups were the most responsive toxicity endpoints.•AOA and AOB were the most sensitive functional microbial group to pesticides.•TPs of CHL and IPU induced negative effects on key soil microbial endpoints.
ISSN:	0048-9697 1879-1026
DOI:	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.073