The organoarsenical feed additive roxarsone (ROX) is a ubiquitous threat due to the unpredictable levels of arsenic (As) released by soil bacteria. The earthworms representing soil fauna communities provide hotspots for As biotransformation genes (ABGs). Nonetheless, the role of gut bacteria in this regard is unclear. In this study, the changes in As speciation, bacterial ABGs, and communities were analyzed in a ROX-contaminated soil (50 mg/kg As in ROX form) containing the earthworm Eisenia feotida. (RE vs. R treatment). After 56 d, earthworms reduced the levels of both ROX and total As by 59 % and 17 %, respectively. The available As content was 10 % lower in the RE than in R treatment. Under ROX stress, the total ABG abundance was upregulated in both earthworm gut and soil, with synergistic effects observed following RE treatment. Besides, the enrichment of arsM and arsB genes in earthworm gut suggested that gut bacteria may facilitate As removal by enhancing As methylation and transport function in soil. However, the bacteria carrying ABGs were not associated with the ABG abundance in earthworm gut indicating the unique strategies of earthworm gut bacteria compared with soil bacteria due to different microenvironments. Based on a well-fit structural equation model (P = 0.120), we concluded that gut bacteria indirectly contribute to ROX transformation and As detoxification by modifying soil ABGs. The positive findings of earthworm-induced ROX transformation shed light on the role of As biomonitoring and bioremediation in organoarsenical-contaminated environments.
Keywords: Arsenic biotransformation genes; Arsenic speciation; Bioavailability; Eisenia feotida; Organoarsenical degradation.
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