Combined bioremediation of atrazine-contaminated soil by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pennisetum</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arthrobacter</Emphasis> sp. strain DNS10

Strain DNS10 was isolated from the black soil collected from the northeast of China which had been cultivated with atrazine as the sole nitrogen source. Pennisetum is a common plant in Heilongjiang Province of China. The main objective of this paper was to evaluate the efficiency of plant–microbe joint interactions (Arthrobacter sp. DNS10 + Pennisetum) in atrazine degradation compared with single-strain and single-plant effects. Plant–microbe joint interactions degraded 98.10 % of the atrazine, while single strain and single plant only degraded 87.38 and 66.71 % after a 30-day experimental period, respectively. The results indicated that plant–microbe joint interactions had a better degradation effect. Meanwhile, we found that plant–microbe joint interactions showed a higher microbial diversity. The results of microbial diversity illustrated that the positive effects of cropping could improve soil microbial growth and activity. In addition, we planted atrazine-sensitive plants (soybean) in the soil after repair. The results showed that soybean growth in soil previously treated with the plant–microbe joint interactions treatment was better compared with other treatments after 20 days of growth. This was further proved that the soil is more conducive for crop cultivation. Hence, plant–microbe joint interactions are considered to be a potential tool in the remediation of atrazine-contaminated soil.