Pseudomonas fluorescens Dynamics in the Soil Surface to Subsurface Transect

Microbial displacement in the soil is an important process for bioremediation and dispersal of wastewater pathogens. We evaluated cell movement in surface and subsurface red-yellow podzolic soil driven by advection and microbial motility and also survival of a microbial population at high pressure as is prevalent in deep soil layers. Pseudomonas fluorescens Br 12, resistant to rifampycin and kanamycin, was used as a model organism traceable in non-sterile soil. Our results showed that more than 40% of the P. fluorescens population survived under high pressure, and that microbial motility was not a major factor for its displacement in the soil. Cells were adsorbed in similar amounts to surface and subsurface soils, but more viable cells were present in the leachate of surface than in subsurface soils. The nature of this unexpected cell binding to the subsurface soil was studied by EPR, Mossbauer, NMR, and infrared techniques, suggesting iron had a weak interaction with microbes in soil. P. fluorescens movement in soil resulted mainly from convection forces rather than microbial motility. The transport of this bacterium along the transept toward groundwater encountered restricted viability, although it survived under high pressure conditions simulating those in deep soil layers.     

Influence of Substrate on Bioaccumulation of 14C-Paraquat in Compost Worms Eisenia foetida

Contamination of soil with pesticides can be evaluated using toxicity tests with worms because their ecological niche makes them good bioindicators. Bioaccumulation in compost worms of [methyl- ¹⁴C] paraquat (1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride) was measured after three-month exposure in two substrates with differing physicochemical characteristics, in particular their organic matter and clay contents. The treatments were 1.2, 12, and 120 μg paraquat g^?1 substrate. The action of the worms did not influence the loss of ¹⁴C from the substrates, as the ¹⁴C-recovered was essentially quantitative at the end of the study in both the presence and absence of the worms. The organic matter and clay contents of the substrates determined the extent of the paraquat uptake by the worms; worms from the substrate with smaller amounts of clay and organic matter had the higher values of the bioconcentration factor (BCF), these being about 5 (fresh-weight basis) and independent of the application rate. The BCF values in the substrate containing more organic matter and clay were smaller but increased from 1.1 to 3.8 with the increasing rates of application. However, in both substrates the amounts of paraquat bioaccumulated in the worms was always less than 1% of that applied, indicating the very strong binding of paraquat to the substrates and hence low availability to the worms.