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Updated: Dec 12, 2025

Estimating Sediment Denitrification Rates Using Cores and N2O Microsensors
Published on: December 6, 2018
Silver Sulfide Nanoparticles Reduce Nitrous Oxide Emissions by Inhibiting Denitrification in the Earthworm Gut
Jingtao Wu1, Yunfei Bai2,3, Bingkun Lu2,3
1School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Queensland, Australia.
Abstract:
The accumulation of Ag2S in agricultural soil via application of Ag-containing sludge potentially affects the functioning of soil microorganisms and earthworms (EWs) due to the strong antimicrobial properties of Ag. This study examined the effects of Ag2S nanoparticles (Ag2S-NPs) on the EW-mediated (Eisenia fetida and Pontoscolex corethrurus) soil N cycle. We used 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction to examine the bacterial community and nitrification/denitrification-related gene abundance. The presence of either EWs or Ag significantly increased denitrification and N2O emissions. However, the addition of Ag2S to EW-inhabited soil reduced N2O emissions by 14-33%. Furthermore, Ag2S caused a low-dose stimulation but a high-dose inhibition to N2O flux from the EW gut itself. Accordingly, an increase in Ag in the EW gut caused a decrease in the relative abundance of denitrifiers in both the soil and the gut, especially for the dominant genus Bacillus. Ag2S also decreased the copy numbers of nitrification gene (nxrB) and denitrification genes (napA, nirS, and nosZ) in EW gut, leading to the observed decrease in N2O emissions. Collectively, applying Ag2S-containing sludge disturbs the denitrification function of the EW gut microbiota and the cycling of N in soil-based systems.
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