Influence of soil moisture on linear alkylbenzene sulfonate-induced toxicity in ammonia-oxidizing bacteria

Moisture affects bioavailability and fate of pollutants in soil, but very little is known about moisture-induced effects on pollutant toxicity. We here report on a modifying effect of moisture on degradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LASs) and on their toxicity towards ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in agricultural soil. In soil spiked with two LAS levels (250 or 1,000 mg/kg) and incubated at four different moisture levels (9-100% of water-holding capacity), degradation was strongly affected by both soil moisture and initial LAS concentration, resulting in degradation half-lives ranging from 13 to more than 160 d. Toxicity towards AOB assessed by a novel Nitrosomonas europaea luxAB-reporter assay was correlated to total LAS concentration, indicating that LAS remained bioavailable over time without accumulation of toxic intermediates. Toxicity towards indigenous AOB increased with increasing soil moisture. The results indicate that dry soil conditions inhibit LAS degradation and provide protection against toxicity within the indigenous AOB, thus allowing for a rapid recovery of this population when LAS degradation is resumed and completed after rewetting. We propose that the protection of microbial populations against toxicity in dry soil may be a general phenomenon caused primarily by limited diffusion and thus a low bioavailability of the toxicant.