Adverse effect of TWPs on soil fungi and the contribution of benzothiazole rubber additives

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2024-11, Vol.479, p.135574, Article 135574
• Main Authors: Peng, Chu, Wang, Yuan, Sha, Xiaoyu, Li, Mengxi, Wang, Xinling, Wang, Jiao, Wang, Yu, Liu, Chunguang, Wang, Lei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Benzothiazoles; Benzothiazoles rubber additives; Biomass; Fungi - drug effects; Microbial ecology; Rubber; Soil fungi; Soil Microbiology; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Soil Pollutants - toxicity; Tire wear particles (TWPs); Traffic pollution
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135574

Tire wear particles (TWPs) pollution is widely present in soil, especially in areas severely affected by traffic. Herein, regular variation of fungal biomass with TWPs was found in soils with different distances from the highway. In addition, the concentrations of benzothiazole compounds (BTHs), an important class of rubber vulcanization accelerators, were found to be positively correlated to the TWPs abundance. Sixty days' soil microcosm experiments were conducted to further confirm the adverse effect of TWPs and BTHs on soil fungi. TWPs spiking at 1000 mg/kg, a detectable level in the roadside, resulted in significant reduction of biomass and significant changes of soil fungal community structure, with Eurotium and Polyporales being the sensitive species. BTH+ 2-hydroxybenzothiazole (OHBT) (the dominant BTHs in soil) spiking at 200 ng/kg, the dose equivalent to 1000 mg/kg TWPs pollution, also caused a similar magnitude of soil fungal biomass reduction. Adonis demonstrated no significant difference of fungal community structure between TWPs and BTH+OHBT spiked soil, suggesting the adverse effect of TWPs on soil fungi may be explained by the act of BTHs. Pure culture using the representative soil fungi Eurotium and Polyporales also confirmed that BTHs were the main contributors to the adverse effect of TWPs on soil fungi. [Display omitted] •Tire wear particles (TWPs) and benzothiazoles (BTHs) additives were negatively correlated to fungal biomass in highway soils.•Simulation experiments confirmed the adverse effect of TWPs and BTHs on soil fungi.•The adverse effects of TWPs on fungi were explained by BTHs.•Inhibition of dominant BTHs on the representative soil fungi was also demonstrated by pure culture.