Microbial mechanisms in nitrogen fertilization: Modulating the re-mobilization of clay mineral-bound cadmium in agricultural soils

Abstract

Soil cadmium (Cd) can affect crop growth and food safety, and through the enrichment in the food chain, it ultimately poses a risk to human health. Reducing the re-mobilization of Cd caused by the release of protons and acids by crops and microorganisms after stabilization is one of the significant technical challenges in agricultural activities. This study aimed to investigate the re-mobilization of stabilized Cd within the clay mineral-bound fraction of soil and its subsequent accumulation in crops utilizing nitrogen ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃^--N), at 60 and 120 mg kg^-1. Furthermore, the study harvested root exudates at various growth stages to assess their direct influence on the re-mobilization of stabilized Cd and to evaluate the indirect effects mediated by soil microorganisms. The results revealed that, in contrast to the NO₃^--N treatment, the NH₄⁺-N treatment significantly enhanced the conversion of clay mineral-bound Cd in the soil to NH₄NO₃-extractable Cd. It also amplified the accumulation of Cd in edible amaranth, with concentrations in roots and shoots rising from 1.7-6.0 mg kg^-1 to 4.3-9.8 mg kg^-1. The introduction of NH₄⁺-N caused a decrease in the pH value of the rhizosphere soil and stimulated the production and secretion organic and amino acids, such as oxalic acid, lactic acid, stearic acid, succinic acid, and l-serine, from the crop roots. Furthermore, compared to NO₃^--N, the combined interaction of root exudates with NH₄⁺-N has a more pronounced impact on the abundance of microbial genes associated with glycolysis pathway and tricarboxylic acid cycle, such as pkfA, pfkB, sucB, sucC, and sucD. The effects of NH₄⁺-N on crops and microorganisms ultimately result in a significant increase in the re-mobilization of stabilized Cd. However, the simulated experiments showed that microorganisms only contribute to 3.8-6.6 % of the re-mobilization of clay mineral-bound Cd in soil. Therefore, the fundamental strategy to inhibit the re-mobilization of stabilized Cd in vegetable cultivation involves the regulation of proton and organic acid secretion by crops.

Keywords: Accumulation; Metabolomic; Metagenomic; Nitrogen; Re-mobilization.