1. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and n-alkane pollution characteristics and structural and functional perturbations to the microbial community: a case-study of historically petroleum-contaminated soil
- Author
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Jian Li, Jie Yang, Lei Zheng, Lin Xie, Ying Xu, Shihang Yu, and Quanwei Song
- Subjects
Pollution ,China ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ,010501 environmental sciences ,01 natural sciences ,Actinobacteria ,Soil ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Alkanes ,Soil Pollutants ,Environmental Chemistry ,Ecotoxicology ,Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,media_common ,Pollutant ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,biology ,Microbiota ,General Medicine ,biology.organism_classification ,Soil contamination ,Biodegradation, Environmental ,Petroleum ,Microbial population biology ,chemistry ,Beijing ,Environmental chemistry ,Environmental science ,Pyrene - Abstract
Characterization of the typical petroleum pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes, and indigenous microbial community structure and function in historically contaminated soil at petrol stations is critical. Five soil samples were collected from a petrol station in Beijing, China. The concentrations of 16 PAHs and 31 n-alkanes were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The total concentrations of PAHs and n-alkanes ranged from 973 ± 55 to 2667 ± 183 μg/kg and 6.40 ± 0.38 to 8.65 ± 0.59 mg/kg (dry weight), respectively, which increased with depth. According to the observed molecular indices, PAHs and n-alkanes originated mostly from petroleum-related sources. The levels of ΣPAHs and the total toxic benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (ranging from 6.41 to 72.54 μg/kg) might exert adverse biological effects. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was employed to investigate the indigenous microbial community structure and function. The results revealed that Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were the most abundant phyla, and Nocardioides and Microbacterium were the important genera. Based on COG and KEGG annotations, the highly abundant functional classes were identified, and these functions were involved in allowing microorganisms to adapt to the pressure from contaminants. Five petroleum hydrocarbon degradation-related genes were annotated, revealing the distribution of degrading microorganisms. This work facilitates the understanding of the composition, source, and potential ecological impacts of residual PAHs and n-alkanes in historically contaminated soil.
- Published
- 2020