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Effects of Apirolio Addition and Alfalfa and Compost Treatments on the Natural Microbial Community of a Historically PCB-Contaminated Soil

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Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous and persistent organic pollutants generated exclusively from human sources and found in the environment as several congeners (e.g. Apirolio, produced in Italy and used for electrical transformers). To evaluate the ability of the natural microbial community of historically PCB-contaminated soil to transform or degrade PCBs after fresh contamination through the addition of Apirolio, a microcosm experiment was conducted in a greenhouse for approximately 8 months. Compost and Medicago sativa (alfalfa) were additionally used in the microcosms to stimulate microbial PCB degradation. Chemical analyses were performed to evaluate PCB concentrations in the soil and plant tissue. Changes in the microbial community under the different experimental conditions were evaluated in terms of total abundance, viability, diversity, and activity. Interestingly, the addition of Apirolio did not negatively affect the microbial community but did stimulate the degradation of the freshly added PCBs. The plant and compost co-presence did not substantially increase PCB degradation, but it increased the microbial abundance and activity and the occurrence of α-Proteobacteria and fungi.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Francesca Falconi for assisting in the microbiological analysis and Giuseppe Mascolo, Giuseppe Bagnuolo, Angelantonio Calabrese, and Claudia Campanale for their help in the chemical analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Ricerca Sulle Acque-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, (CNR-IRSA), Rome, Italy

    Martina Di Lenola, Anna Barra Caracciolo, Paola Grenni & Jasmin Rauseo

  2. Istituto di Ricerca Sulle Acque-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, (CNR-IRSA), Bari, Italy

    Valeria Ancona & Vito Felice Uricchio

  3. Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Vito A. Laudicina

  4. Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, (CNR-IBAF), Rome, Italy

    Angelo Massacci

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  1. Martina Di Lenola
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Correspondence to Anna Barra Caracciolo.

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Di Lenola, M., Barra Caracciolo, A., Grenni, P. et al. Effects of Apirolio Addition and Alfalfa and Compost Treatments on the Natural Microbial Community of a Historically PCB-Contaminated Soil. Water Air Soil Pollut 229, 143 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-018-3803-4

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