Impact of Fullerene (C60) on a Soil Microbial Community

The nascent state of the nanoproduct industry calls for important early assessment of environmental impacts before significant releases have occurred. Clearly, the impact of manufactured nanomaterials on key soil processes must be addressed so that an unbiased discussion concerning the environmental consequences of nanotechnology can take place. In this study, soils were treated with either 1 μg C₆₀ g^-1 soil in aqueous suspension (nC₆₀) or 1000 μg C₆₀ g^-1 soil in granular form, a control containing equivalent tetrahydrofuran residues as generated during nC₆₀ formation process or water and incubated for up to 180 days. Treatment effects on soil respiration, both basal and glucose-induced, were evaluated. The effects on the soil microbial community size was evaluated using total phospholipid derived phosphate. The impact on community structure was evaluated using both fatty acid profiles and following extraction of total genomic DNA, by DGGE after PCR amplification of total genomic DNA using bacterial variable V3 region targeted primers. In addition, treatment affects on soil enzymatic activities for β-glucosidase, acid-phosphatase, dehydrogenase, and urease were followed. Our observations show that the introduction of fullerene, as either C₆₀ or nC₆₀, has little impact on the structure and function of the soil microbial community and microbial processes.