The Biolog EcoPlate™ Technique for Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Freshwater Microbial Communities
The application of Biolog EcoPlate™ for community-level physiological profiling of soils is well documented; however, the functional diversity of aquatic bacterial communities has been hardly studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the applicability of the Biolog EcoPlate™ technique...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/7/1777 |
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| author | Imre Németh Szabina Molnár Emese Vaszita Mónika Molnár |
| author_facet | Imre Németh Szabina Molnár Emese Vaszita Mónika Molnár |
| author_sort | Imre Németh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The application of Biolog EcoPlate™ for community-level physiological profiling of soils is well documented; however, the functional diversity of aquatic bacterial communities has been hardly studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the applicability of the Biolog EcoPlate™ technique and evaluate comparatively the applied endpoints, for the characterisation of the effects of metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) on freshwater microbial communities. Microcosm experiments were run to assess the effect of nano ZnO and nano TiO<sub>2</sub> in freshwater at 0.8–100 mg/L concentration range. The average well colour development, substrate average well colour development, substrate richness, Shannon index and evenness, Simpson index, McIntosh index and Gini coefficient were determined to quantify the metabolic capabilities and functional diversity. Comprehensive analysis of the experimental data demonstrated that short-term exposure to TiO<sub>2</sub> and ZnO NPs affected the metabolic activity at different extent and through different mechanisms of action. TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs displayed lower impact on the metabolic profile showing up to 30% inhibition. However, the inhibitory effect of ZnO NPs reached 99% with clearly concentration-dependent responses. This study demonstrated that the McIntosh and Gini coefficients were well applicable and sensitive diversity indices. The parallel use of general metabolic capabilities and functional diversity indices may improve the output information of the ecological studies on microbial communities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:30:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55efcd4d34614f7c948c27be634e96bd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:30:27Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-55efcd4d34614f7c948c27be634e96bd2023-11-22T04:33:46ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912021-07-01117177710.3390/nano11071777The Biolog EcoPlate™ Technique for Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Freshwater Microbial CommunitiesImre Németh0Szabina Molnár1Emese Vaszita2Mónika Molnár3Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, H-1111 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, H-1111 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, H-1111 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, H-1111 Budapest, HungaryThe application of Biolog EcoPlate™ for community-level physiological profiling of soils is well documented; however, the functional diversity of aquatic bacterial communities has been hardly studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the applicability of the Biolog EcoPlate™ technique and evaluate comparatively the applied endpoints, for the characterisation of the effects of metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) on freshwater microbial communities. Microcosm experiments were run to assess the effect of nano ZnO and nano TiO<sub>2</sub> in freshwater at 0.8–100 mg/L concentration range. The average well colour development, substrate average well colour development, substrate richness, Shannon index and evenness, Simpson index, McIntosh index and Gini coefficient were determined to quantify the metabolic capabilities and functional diversity. Comprehensive analysis of the experimental data demonstrated that short-term exposure to TiO<sub>2</sub> and ZnO NPs affected the metabolic activity at different extent and through different mechanisms of action. TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs displayed lower impact on the metabolic profile showing up to 30% inhibition. However, the inhibitory effect of ZnO NPs reached 99% with clearly concentration-dependent responses. This study demonstrated that the McIntosh and Gini coefficients were well applicable and sensitive diversity indices. The parallel use of general metabolic capabilities and functional diversity indices may improve the output information of the ecological studies on microbial communities.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/7/1777Biolog EcoPlate™freshwater microbial communitybiodiversitymetal oxide nanoparticlesnano titanium dioxidenano zinc oxide |
| spellingShingle | Imre Németh Szabina Molnár Emese Vaszita Mónika Molnár The Biolog EcoPlate™ Technique for Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Freshwater Microbial Communities Nanomaterials Biolog EcoPlate™ freshwater microbial community biodiversity metal oxide nanoparticles nano titanium dioxide nano zinc oxide |
| title | The Biolog EcoPlate™ Technique for Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Freshwater Microbial Communities |
| title_full | The Biolog EcoPlate™ Technique for Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Freshwater Microbial Communities |
| title_fullStr | The Biolog EcoPlate™ Technique for Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Freshwater Microbial Communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Biolog EcoPlate™ Technique for Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Freshwater Microbial Communities |
| title_short | The Biolog EcoPlate™ Technique for Assessing the Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Freshwater Microbial Communities |
| title_sort | biolog ecoplate™ technique for assessing the effect of metal oxide nanoparticles on freshwater microbial communities |
| topic | Biolog EcoPlate™ freshwater microbial community biodiversity metal oxide nanoparticles nano titanium dioxide nano zinc oxide |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/7/1777 |
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