Enhanced biodegradable polyester film degradation in soil by sequential cooperation of yeast-derived esterase and microbial community.

The degradation of biodegradable plastics poses a significant environmental challenge and requires effective solutions. In this study, an esterase derived from a phyllosphere yeast Pseudozyma antarctica (PaE) enhanced the degradation and mineralization of poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) film in soil. PaE was found to substitute for esterases from initial degraders and activate sequential esterase production from soil microbes. The PBSA film pretreated with PaE (PBSA-E) rapidly diminished and was mineralized in soil until day 55 with high CO2 production. Soil with PBSA-E maintained higher esterase activities with enhancement of microbial abundance, whereas soil with inactivated PaE-treated PBSA film (PBSA-inact E) showed gradual degradation and time-lagged esterase activity increases. The fungal genera Arthrobotrys and Tetracladium, as possible contributors to PBSA-film degradation, increased in abundance in soil with PBSA-inact E but were less abundant in soil with PBSA-E. The dominance of the fungal genus Fusarium and the bacterial genera Arthrobacter and Azotobacter in soil with PBSA-E further supported PBSA degradation. Our study highlights the potential of PaE in addressing concerns associated with biodegradable plastic persistence in agricultural and environmental contexts.

Effect of low C/N crop residue input on N2O, NO, and CH4 fluxes from Andosol and Fluvisol fields.

Crop residues are produced from agriculture in large amounts globally. Crop residues are known to be a source of nitrous oxide (N2O); however, contrasting results have been reported. Furthermore, the effect of crop residues on nitric oxide (NO) and methane (CH4) fluxes has not been well studied. We investigated N2O, NO, and CH4 fluxes after low C/N crop residue (cabbages and potatoes) inputs to lysimeter fields for two years using with automated flux monitoring system. Lysimeters were filled with two contrasting soil types, Andosol (total C: 33.1 g kg-1; clay: 18%) and Fluvisol (17.7 g kg-1; 36%). Nitrogen application rates were 250 kg N ha-1 of synthetic fertilizer and 272 kg N ha-1 of cow manure compost for cabbage, and 120 kg N ha-1 of synthetic fertilizer and 136 kg N ha-1 of cow manure compost for potato, respectively. Large N2O peaks were observed after crop residues were left on the surface of the soil for 1 to 2 weeks in summer, but not in winter. The annual N2O emission factors (EFs) for cabbage residues were 3.02% and 5.37% for Andosol and Fluvisol, respectively. Those for potatoes were 7.51% and 5.10% for Andosol and Fluvisol, respectively. The EFs were much higher than the mean EFs of synthetic fertilizers from Japan's agricultural fields (0.62%). Moreover, the EFs were much higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default N2O EFs for synthetic fertilizers and crop residues (1%). The annual NO EFs for potatoes were 1.35% and 2.44% for Andosol and Fluvisol, respectively, while no emission was observed after cabbage residue input. Crop residues did not affect CH4 uptake by soil. Our results suggest that low C/N crop residue input to soils can create a hotspot of N2O emission, when temperature and water conditions are not limiting factors for microbial activity.

Fungal community dynamics during degradation of poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) film in two cultivated soils in Japan.

Fungi play an important role in the degradation of biodegradable plastics (BPs) in soil. However, little is known about their dynamics in the soil during the degradation of BPs. We studied the community dynamics of BP-degrading fungi during poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) film degradation in two different types of soils using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. The Fluvisol and the Andosol soils degrade embedded PBSA films at high and low speeds, respectively. The number of PBSA emulsion-degrading fungi that increased in the Fluvisol soil was higher than that in the Andosol soil after embedding with PBSA films. We succeeded in detecting internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) regions those matched that of the fungi by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) in both soils. Our results suggest that fungal community analyses using PCR-DGGE in combination with BP degraders isolation techniques enables the monitoring of BP films-degrading fungi.

Mitigation of soil N2O emission by inoculation with a mixed culture of indigenous Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens.

Agricultural soil is the largest source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas. Soybean is an important leguminous crop worldwide. Soybean hosts symbiotic nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria (rhizobia) in root nodules. In soybean ecosystems, N2O emissions often increase during decomposition of the root nodules. Our previous study showed that N2O reductase can be used to mitigate N2O emission from soybean fields during nodule decomposition by inoculation with nosZ++ strains [mutants with increased N2O reductase (N2OR) activity] of Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens. Here, we show that N2O emission can be reduced at the field scale by inoculation with a mixed culture of indigenous nosZ+ strains of B. diazoefficiens USDA110 group isolated from Japanese agricultural fields. Our results also suggested that nodule nitrogen is the main source of N2O production during nodule decomposition. Isolating nosZ+ strains from local soybean fields would be more applicable and feasible for many soybean-producing countries than generating mutants.

Decrease in fungal biodiversity along an available phosphorous gradient in arable Andosol soils in Japan.

Andosols comprise one of the most important soil groups for agricultural activities in Japan because they cover about 46.5% of arable upland fields. In this soil group, available phosphorus (P) is accumulated by application of excessive fertilizer, but little is known about the influence of increasing P availability on microbial community diversity at large scales. We collected soil samples from 9 agro-geographical sites with Andosol soils across an available P gradient (2048.1-59.1 mg P2O5·kg(-1)) to examine the influence of P availability on the fungal community diversity. We used polymerase chain reaction - denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to analyze the fungal communities based on 18S rRNA genes. Statistical analyses revealed a high negative correlation between available P and fungal diversity (H'). Fungal diversity across all sites exhibited a significant hump-shaped relationship with available P (R(2) = 0.38, P < 0.001). In addition, the composition of the fungal community was strongly correlated with the available P gradient. The ribotype F6, which was positively correlated with available P, was closely related to Mortierella. The results show that both the diversity and the composition of the fungal community were influenced by available P concentrations in Andosols, at a large scale. This represents an important step toward understanding the processes responsible for the maintenance of fungal diversity in Andosolic soils.

Effect of soil type and fertilizer management on archaeal community in upland field soils.

The effects of soil and fertilizer types on archaeal communities were evaluated by real-time PCR and PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) targeting the 16S rRNA gene of total DNA directly extracted from upland field soils. Twelve experimental upland field plots containing four different soil types, i.e., Cumulic Andosol, Low-humic Andosol, Yellow Soil and Gray Lowland Soil, were maintained under three different fertilizer management systems for 8 years (chemical fertilizer, rice husks and cow manure, and pig manure, respectively). Two-way ANOVA and RDA analyses showed that the copy number and PCR-DGGE profile of archaeal 16S rRNA gene were affected mainly by soil type, especially between Andosol and non-Andosol, but were also influenced by fertilizer type. Among several soil chemical properties, total N content showed a significant correlation to archaeal community. Sequence analyses showed that most of the major DGGE bands corresponded to uncultured Crenarchaeota of Group I.1b that contained ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA). These sequences were separated into two clusters in the phylogenetic tree and each lineage showed a different response to total N content.