Effect of metal-rich sewage sludge application on the bacterial communities of grasslands

Journal Article · Thu Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 1985 · Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5662877

Barkay, T; Tripp, S C; Olson, B H

The effect of long-term application of heavy metal-laden sewage sludge on the total heterotrophic aerobic and the cadmium-resistant soil bacterial communities was studied. Gram-positive bacteria were completely absent from resistant communities. These findings suggest that this group is highly susceptible to Cd. Shannon's diversity indices estimated for total communities did not reveal negative effects on the communities that developed in the presence of sludge. However, Cd-resistant communities isolated from long-term sludge-amended soils were more diverse than the resistant communities from a control sample, suggesting that adaptation to Cd as a stressor had occurred in the presence of sludge constituents. This higher diversity was attributed to Cd resistance in pseudomonads and gram-negative fermenters. Resistance did not develop by dissemination of Cd resistance plasmids, because these were rarely detected in the genomes of resistant strains.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Irvine
• OSTI ID: 5662877
• Journal Information: Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States), Journal Name: Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States) Vol. 49:2; ISSN AEMID
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560302* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Microorganisms-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BACTERIA
BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CADMIUM
CELL CONSTITUENTS
ELEMENTS
GENOME MUTATIONS
METALS
MICROORGANISMS
MUTATIONS
PLASMIDS
SENSITIVITY
SEWAGE
SEWAGE SLUDGE
SLUDGES
SPECIES DIVERSITY
TOXICITY
WASTES