Effects of imidacloprid on soil microbial communities in different saline soils

The effects of imidacloprid in the soil environment are a worldwide concern. However, the impact of imidacloprid on soil microorganisms under salt stress is almost unknown. Therefore, an indoor incubation test was performed, and the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approach was used to determine the response of different saline soil bacterial and fungal community structures to the presence of imidacloprid (0.4, 2, 10 mg kg(-1)). The results showed that the soil bacterial diversity slightly declined with increasing imidacloprid concentration in soils with low salinity. In moderately saline soils, a new band in the DGGE profile suggested that imidacloprid could improve the soil bacterial diversity to some degree. An analysis of variance indicated that the measured soil bacterial diversity parameters were significantly affected by dose and incubation time. Compared with the control, the soil fungal community structure showed no obvious changes in low and moderately saline soils treated with imidacloprid. The results of these observations provide a basic understanding of the potential ecological effects of imidacloprid on different microorganisms in saline soils.