Use of an avoidance test for the assessment of microbial degradation of PAHs

Christine Lors (1) , Maite Martínez Aldaya (2, 3) , Sandrine Salmon (3) , Jean-François Ponge (4, 3)

1 CNRSSP - Centre National de Recherche sur les Sites et Sols Pollués
2 Departamento de Zoología y Ecología
3 MAOAC - Mécanismes adaptatifs : des organismes aux communautés
4 ECOTROP - Fonctionnement, évolution et mécanismes régulateurs des écosystèmes forestiers

An avoidance test using the soil springtail Folsomia candida was used to assess changes in contamination levels at low doses of PAHs following incubation with indigenous microflora. A soil from a former coke site was diluted to 1% in an unpolluted soil from the same site, which was used as a control, then both substrates were remoistened to 80% field capacity. The diluted soil was previously shown to be strongly repellent to F. candida, although not toxic. After 2-month incubation at 20 degrees C, the mixture lost its repellence capacity and became attractive to the test animal, while the global 16 PAHs content had decreased to a great extent (50%). PAH disappearance was linked to the occurrence of indigenous microbiota able to degrade hydrocarbons.

Mots clés: Avoidance; Microbial degradation; Folsomia candida; Soil pollution

Domaines: Science des sols

Christine Lors, Maite Martínez Aldaya, Sandrine Salmon, Jean-François Ponge. Use of an avoidance test for the assessment of microbial degradation of PAHs. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2006, 38 (8), pp.2199-2204. ⟨10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.01.026⟩. ⟨hal-00495395⟩