Surface modification significantly changed the effects of nano-polystyrene on sediment microbial communities and nitrogen metabolism

Jiaqi Zhao; Lingzhan Miao; Yu Yao; Tanveer M Adyel; Haomiao Cheng; Songqi Liu; Yang Liu; Jun Hou

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132409

Surface modification significantly changed the effects of nano-polystyrene on sediment microbial communities and nitrogen metabolism

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Oct 15:460:132409. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132409. Epub 2023 Aug 25.

Authors

Jiaqi Zhao¹, Lingzhan Miao², Yu Yao³, Tanveer M Adyel⁴, Haomiao Cheng⁵, Songqi Liu⁶, Yang Liu⁷, Jun Hou²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resources Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, People's Republic of China; The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University, 500 W. 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA.
² Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resources Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, People's Republic of China.
³ School of Environment, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address: yaoyu@njnu.edu.cn.
⁴ STEM, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia.
⁵ School of Hydraulic Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, Jiangsu, China.
⁶ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China. Electronic address: liusongqi@usts.edu.cn.
⁷ Jiangsu Environmental Engineering Technology Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210036, China.

PMID: 37643574
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132409

Abstract

Nanoplastics are ubiquitous in the natural environment, and their ecological risks have received considerable attention. Surface modification is common for nanoplastics and an essential factor affecting their toxicity. However, studies on the potential effects of nanoplastics and their surface-modified forms on functional communities in aquatic systems are still scarce. This study investigated the effects of nano-polystyrene (nPS), amino-modified nPS (nPS-NH₂), and carboxylated nPS (nPS-COOH) particles on sediment bacterial and fungal communities and their functions over a 60-day incubation period. The results showed that the fungal community was significantly inhibited by nPS-NH₂ exposure, while the bacterial community diversity remained relatively stable in all nPS treatments. Proteobacteria and Ascomycota were the dominant phyla for the bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. Nitrification was inhibited in all nPS treatments, while denitrification was enhanced for nPS-NH₂ and nPS-COOH treatments. The activity of four key denitrification enzymes (NAR, NIR, NOR, and NOS) was also significantly improved by nPS, resulting in increased nitrogen and nitrous oxide gas production, and decreased nitrate concentrations in the overlying water. This showed the total increased effect of nPS on the activity of denitrifiers. Our results suggest that surface modification significantly affects the effects of nPS on microbial communities and functions. The potential impacts of nPS on ecological functions should be elucidated with more attention.

Keywords: Bacterial community; Denitrification; Fungal community; Nanoplastic; Sediment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Carboxylic Acids
Microbiota*
Microplastics
Mycobiome*
Nitrogen
Polystyrenes / toxicity

Substances

Microplastics
Carboxylic Acids
Nitrogen
Polystyrenes