Application of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> in the Remediation of Soil Pollution : Evidence from the Earthworm-Microbe-Arabidopsis System
Creators: name: Zi, Yufen
name: Tang, Bincheng
name: Liu, Change
name: Yu, Minghui
name: Chen, Jinquan
name: Duan, Changqun
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Medicine
subject: Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Plant Biology

description: Presence of cadmium in soil affects the growth status of plants; research on the underlying mechanism has focused on its lethal and sublethal consequences in plants, ignoring the impacts of soil organisms. Therefore, this study designed a microorganism – earthworm – plant ecosystem, investigated the influence of Cd (0, 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>) on the growth of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> in the presence of earthworms (<i>Eisenia fetida</i>), and revealed the mechanisms from the perspective of altered relationships among different soil organisms. In this study, there was no significant difference in the death rate of earthworms with low Cd addition concentration, but the microorganisms in earthworms and soil microorganisms changed, abundance of <i>Actinomycetes</i> in soil increased, while <i>Planctomycetes</i> decreased, <i>Mycobacterium</i> in the gut of <i>Eisenia fetida</i> decreased under Cd stress. Microorganisms affect soil pH, which in turn affects soil physicochemical properties and the form of cadmium in soil. Compared with the control, soil pH significantly decreases under cadmium stress, Under 0.3 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> treatment, soil total nitrogen, available phosphorus and total potassium are 181.11, 5.09, 51.90, and 7.55 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>, respectively, They were significantly higher than control group. Improved the growth environment of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> and promoted the absorption of Cd in soil which affected the proportion of available Cd in the soil (when Cd was added at 1.0 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>, the proportion of available Cd in the soil decreased significantly from 95.05% to 49.40%). <i>A. thaliana</i> also absorbed more Cd, which increased Cd toxicity, and the reproductive growth of <i>A. thaliana</i> was enhanced, while vegetative growth was weakened.Compared with the control group (278.11 mg), the biomass of <i>A. thaliana</i> decreased significantly to 189.83 mg when Cd was supplemented at 0.3 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>. Therefore, the activities of and interactions among earthworms, plants, and microorganisms play important roles in reducing soil heavy metals and improving soil properties. Under cadmium (Cd) stress, the relative abundance of <i>Actinomycetes</i> in soil increased, while <i>Planctomycetes</i> decreased.The relative abundance of <i>Mycobacterium</i> in the gut of <i>Eisenia fetida</i> decreased under Cd stress.Microbial changes and <i>E. fetida</i> activity changed soil physical and chemical properties and reduced the ratio of soil available Cd.Microorganisms and <i>E. fetida</i> enhanced the reproductive growth and weakened the vegetative growth of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>. Under cadmium (Cd) stress, the relative abundance of <i>Actinomycetes</i> in soil increased, while <i>Planctomycetes</i> decreased. The relative abundance of <i>Mycobacterium</i> in the gut of <i>Eisenia fetida</i> decreased under Cd stress. Microbial changes and <i>E. fetida</i> activity changed soil physical and chemical properties and reduced the ratio of soil available Cd. Microorganisms and <i>E. fetida</i> enhanced the reproductive growth and weakened the vegetative growth of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>.