GammaProteobacteria as a potential bioindicator of a multiple contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in agricultural soils

The impact of a multiple contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was studied on permanent grassland soil, historically presenting low contamination (i.e. less than 1 mg kg−1). Soil microcosms were spiked at 300 mg kg−1 with either single or a mixture of seven PAHs. While total dissipation of the phenanthrene was reached in under 90 days, only 60% of the PAH mixture were dissipated after 90 days. Interestingly, after 30 days, the abundance of the GammaProteobacteria class (assessed by qPCR) become significantly higher in microcosms spiked with the PAH mixture. In addition, the specific abundance of the cultivable Pseudomonas spp., which belong to the GammaProteobacteria class, increased earlier and transiently (after 8 days) in the microcosms spiked with the PAH mixture. Consequently, we propose to use the GammaProteobacteria as a bioindicator to detect the impact on the bacterial community of a multiple contamination by PAHs in agricultural soils. The abundance of the GammaProteobacteria class increases significantly in response to a spiking by a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture.