Effect of antimony on the microbial growth and the activities of soil enzymes

The effects of antimony (Sb) on microbial growth inhibition and activities of soil enzymes were investigated in the present study. Test bacterial species were Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus aureus. Among the microorganisms tested, S. aureus was the most sensitive. The 50% effects on the inhibition of specific growth rate of E. coli, B. subtilis, and, S. aureus were 555, 18.4, and 15.8 mg Sb L−1, respectively. A silt loam soil was amended with antimony and incubated in a controlled condition. Microbial activities of dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase (P cycle), arylsulfatase (S cycle), ß-glucosidase (C cycle), urease (N cycle), and fluorescein diacetate hydrolase in soil were measured. Activities of urease and dehydrogenase were related with antimony and can be an early indication of antimony contamination. The maximum increase in soil urease activity by antimony was up to 168% after 3 d compared with the control. The activities of other four enzymes (acid phosphatase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolase, arylsulfatase and ß-glucosidase) were less affected by antimony. This study suggested that antimony affects nitrogen cycle in soil by changing urease activity under the neutral pH, however, soil enzyme activities may not be a good protocol due to their complex response patterns to antimony pollution.