Toxicity of VO2 micro/nanoparticles to nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii

Peng Ouyang; Jinwei Yang; Qinmei Zhong; Yue Yuan; Yanfeng Gao; Haifang Wang; Sheng-Tao Yang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133553

Toxicity of VO₂ micro/nanoparticles to nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii

J Hazard Mater. 2024 Mar 15:466:133553. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133553. Epub 2024 Jan 18.

Authors

Peng Ouyang¹, Jinwei Yang², Qinmei Zhong², Yue Yuan², Yanfeng Gao³, Haifang Wang⁴, Sheng-Tao Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Pollution Control Chemistry and Environmental Functional Materials for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Key Laboratory of General Chemistry of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China; College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
² Key Laboratory of Pollution Control Chemistry and Environmental Functional Materials for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Key Laboratory of General Chemistry of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
⁴ Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China. Electronic address: hwang@shu.edu.cn.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Pollution Control Chemistry and Environmental Functional Materials for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Key Laboratory of General Chemistry of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China. Electronic address: yangst@swun.edu.cn.

PMID: 38266589
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133553

Abstract

Vanadium dioxide (VO₂) has been used in a variety of products due to its outstanding phase transition properties. However, as potential heavy metal contaminants, the environmental hazards and risks of VO₂ should be systematically investigated. Biological nitrogen fixation is one of the most dominant processes in biogeochemical cycle, which is associated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. In this study, we reported the environmental bio-effects of VO₂ micro/nanoparticles on the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii. VO₂ at 10 and 30 mg/L caused severe hazards to A. vinelandii, such as cell apoptosis, oxidative damage, physical damage, genotoxicity, and the loss of nitrogen fixation activity. The up-regulated differentially expressed genes of A. vinelandii were related to stress response, and the down-regulated genes were mainly related to energy metabolism. Surprisingly, VO₂ of 10 mg/L decreased the nif gene expression but elevated the vnf gene expression, which enhanced the ability of A. vinelandii to reduce acetylene in anaerobic environment. In addition, under tested conditions, VO₂ nanoparticles exhibited insignificantly higher toxicity than VO₂ microparticles.

Keywords: Nitrogen-fixing bacteria; Size effect; Toxicity; Vanadium dioxide; nif gene.

MeSH terms

Azotobacter vinelandii* / genetics
Azotobacter vinelandii* / metabolism
Nitrogen / metabolism
Nitrogen Fixation / genetics
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria*

Substances

Nitrogen