Nitrate reduction coupling with As(III) oxidation in neutral As-contaminated paddy soil preserves nitrogen, reduces N2O emissions and alleviates As toxicity.

ABSTRACT

In arsenic (As)-contaminated paddy soil, microbial-driven nitrate (NO3-) reduction coupled with arsenite (As(III)) oxidation can reduce As toxicity, but the whereabouts of NO3- remain unclear. In this study, the experiments were established using selective streptomycin (STP) and cyclohexylamine to inhibit bacterial and fungal functional responses, respectively, and metagenomic sequencing techniques were used to explain the biological mechanisms of NO3- reduction coupled with As(III) oxidation in neutral As-contaminated paddy soil. The results indicated that fungal denitrification resulted in stronger nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (321.6 µg kg-1) than bacterial denitrification (175.9 µg kg-1) in neutral As-contaminated paddy soil, but NO3- reduction coupled with As(III) oxidation reduced the N2O emissions. Only adding STP led to ammonium (NH4+) generation (17.7 mg kg-1), and simultaneously more NH4+ appeared in NO3- reduction coupled with As(III) oxidation; this may be because it improved the electron transfer efficiency by 18.2 %. Achromobacter was involved in denitrification coupled with As(III) oxidation. Burkholderiales was responsible for NO3- reduction to NH4+ coupled with As(III) oxidation. This study provided a theoretical basis for NO3- reduction coupled with As(III) oxidation reducing N2O emissions, promoting the reduction of NO3- to NH4+, and reducing As toxicity in paddy soil.