Structural and metabolic responses of microbial community to sewage-borne chlorpyrifos in constructed wetlands

Long-term use of chlorpyrifos poses a potential threat to the environment that cannot be ignored, yet little is known about the succession of substrate microbial communities in constructed wetlands (CWs) under chlorpyrifos stress. Six pilot-scale CW systems receiving artificial wastewater containing 1 mg/L chlorpyrifos were established to investigate the effects of chlorpyrifos and wetland vegetation on the microbial metabolism pattern of carbon sources and community structure, using BIOLOG and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approaches. Based on our samples, BIOLOG showed that Shannon diversity (Hʹ) and richness (S) values distinctly increased after 30 days when chlorpyrifos was added. At the same time, differences between the vegetated and the non-vegetated systems disappeared. DGGE profiles indicated that Hʹ and S had no significant differences among four different treatments. The effect of chlorpyrifos on the microbial community was mainly reflected at the physiological level. Principal component analysis (PCA) of both BIOLOG and DGGE showed that added chlorpyrifos made a difference on test results. Meanwhile, there was no difference between the vegetation and no-vegetation treatments after addition of chlorpyrifos at the physiological level. Moreover, the vegetation had no significant effect on the microbial community at the genetic level. Comparisons were made between bacteria in this experiment and other known chlorpyrifos-degrading bacteria. The potential chlorpyrifos-degrading ability of bacteria in situ may be considerable.

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