Work

The Remediation Mechanism of Soil Atrazine Contamination by Vermicompost: A Metagenomic Perspective

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Atrazine persistence poses serious environmental threats. This study used metagenomics and qPCR to elucidate the remediation mechanism of vermicompost in atrazine degradation pathways. Seven treatments were established: unsterilized soil (CKn); sterilized soil amended with 45 (SsV1), 60 (SsV2), and 75 (SsV3) days of vermicompost; and unsterilized soil with the same vermicompost (SnV1, SnV2 and SnV3). Vermicompost significantly restructured soil microbial communities. SsV1 exhibited the highest Proteobacteria abundance (51.38%), while SsV3 markedly increased Bacteroidetes abundance (10.34%). Functional annotation revealed that vermicompost enriched carbohydrate metabolism-related COG units and upregulated CAZymes (e.g., CE1 and CE10 families), providing energy support for degrading microbial communities. Regarding metabolic pathways, SnV2 exhibited the highest atrazine degradation abundance (2.94%), significantly enriching Bauldia (4.84 RPKM) for dechlorination. During cyanuric acid ring-opening, SnV3 significantly enriched Pseudorhodoplanes (12.14 RPKM). During terminal mineralization, SsV2 increased Caenimonas abundance (15.25 RPKM) and introduced the exogenous genus Pseudorhodoplanes (7.78 RPKM). qPCR confirmed SnV2’s trzN (day 20) and atzB (day 40) reached 9.03 × 104 and 6.95 × 107 copies/g, respectively. These findings indicate vermicompost accelerated atrazine mineralization by enriching degradative microbial communities and promoting key functional gene expression, with 60-day vermicompost demonstrating superior performance. This study provides a robust theoretical framework for remediating atrazine-contaminated soil by vermicompost.

Source: Microorganisms

DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms14020415

Authors: Luwen Zhang, Lixin Xu, Zunhao Zhang, Zhenke Liu, Yuxiang Chen

Institution: Jilin University

Language: English

Topic: Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies

Subfield: Pollution

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,258