The pervasive occurrence of combined metal and antibiotic pollution (CMAP) in agricultural soils is increasingly being recognized as a novel threat to ecosystems. However, the toxicity variations of CMAP compared to single pollution and the mechanisms underlying these changes remain poorly understood. Herein in this study, the toxicities of copper (Cu)/erythromycin (ERY) and lead (Pb)/norfloxacin (NOR) to earthworms (Eisenia fetida) were investigated. These results indicated that a single exposure to ERY and NOR at environmental concentrations had negligible effects on physiological processes. Combined Cu/ERY exposure induced more significant oxidative stress, disrupted energy metabolism, and caused cellular damage than Cu alone, as indicated by altered antioxidant enzyme activities, malondialdehyde and adenosine triphosphate content, elevated reactive oxygen species levels, and apoptosis rates in coelomocytes. Conversely, these adverse effects were mitigated by Pb/NOR exposure compared to Pb treatment alone. Further analysis of the gut microbiota revealed that Cu/Pb-tolerant Bacillus spp. play a critical mediating role in the contrasting toxicity profiles. ERY reduced the abundance of Bacillus spp., diminishing their ability to secrete soluble phosphate to immobilize Cu in the gut and leading to increased Cu absorption and toxicity. NOR enriches Bacillus spp. in the gut, facilitating Pb immobilization and reducing Pb bioavailability and toxicity. The contrast toxicity profile revealed the response of the gut microbiota taxa is the primary determinant of the variation in CMAP toxicity. These findings advance our understanding of the impact of CMAP on soil organisms and highlight the need for comprehensive ecological risk assessments to inform regulatory strategies.

Heavy metals (HMs) contamination is a major issue produced by industrial and mining processes, among other human activities. The capacity of fungi to eliminate HMs from the environment has drawn attention. However, the main process by which fungi protect the environment against the damaging effects of these HMs, such as cadmium (Cd), is still unknown. In this study, some fungi were isolated from HMs-polluted soil. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and the tolerance indices of the tested isolates against Cd were evaluated. Moreover, molecular identification of the most tolerant fungal isolates (Aspergillus niger and A. terreus) was done and deposited in the GenBank NCBI database. The results showed that the colony diameter of A. niger and A. terreus was decreased gradually by the increase of Cd concentration. Also, all the tested parameters were influenced by Cd concentration. Lipid peroxidation (MDA content) was progressively increased by 12.95-105.95% (A. niger) and 17.27-85.38% (A. terreus), respectively, from 50 to 200 mg/L. PPO, APX, and POD enzymes were elevated in the presence of Cd, thus illustrating the appearance of an oxidative stress action. Compared to the non-stressed A. niger, the POD and PPO activities were enhanced by 92.00 and 104.24% at 200 mg/L Cd. Also, APX activity was increased by 58.12% at 200 mg/L. Removal efficiency and microbial accumulation capacities of A. niger and A. terreus have also been assessed. Production of succinic and malic acids by A. niger and A. terreus was increased in response to 200 mg/L Cd, in contrast to their controls (Cd-free), as revealed by HPLC analysis. These findings helped us to suggest A. niger and A. terreus as the potential mycoremediation microbes that alleviate Cd contamination. We can learn more about these fungal isolates' resistance mechanisms against different HMs through further studies.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are examples of emerging pollutants (EPs) that are receiving more attention because of their environmental effect and persistence. In order to investigate the prevalence, origins, environmental destiny, and related dangers of PPCPs, this review gathers contemporary research (2015-2025). It draws attention to how they accumulate in soil, water, and biota, mostly as a result of traditional wastewater treatment technologies' inefficiency. The focus is on advanced detection methods including bioanalytical instruments and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The review also discusses how PPCPs contribute to ecological damage and antibiotic resistance, assesses contemporary remediation techniques, and provides guidance for future study and policy development.

Typically, nanoplastics (NPs) are contaminated before entering soil, and the impact of NPs on the biotoxicity of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) they carry remains unclear. This study simulated two environmentally relevant scenarios: singular exposure of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in soil and exposure via NPs loading (NP-BaP). Correlation analysis and machine learning revealed that injury in earthworms exposed for 28 days was significantly associated with NPs. Moreover, when the soil exposure concentration of BaP was 4 mg/kg, the NP-BaP group exhibited 10.67 % greater pigmentation than the BaP-only group. Despite the lower biota soil accumulation factor (BSAF) of earthworms in the NP-BaP group, the concentration of BaP in the soil remained at higher levels in the late stages of exposure. This led to NP-BaP inducing a stronger trend of oxidative damage compared to BaP alone. Furthermore, molecular-level studies indicated that the differential preferences of NPs and BaP for damaging antioxidant enzymes were linked to individual oxidative stress responses. This study confirmed that NPs, at non-toxic concentrations, could increase the persistence of BaP's biological toxicity after prolonged exposure, highlighting the potential safety risks of NPs as carriers of POPs to soil organisms.

Micro- (M-BC) and nano-biochar (N-BC) particles are ready to be disintegrated from biochar (BC), which is extensively applied to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soil. Still, its effects on the remediation efficiency remain poorly understood. This study investigated the interactions between the BC particles (M-BC and N-BC) and Eisenia foetida (E. foetida) in cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soils. Results indicated that M-BC has weak negative effect on E. foetida with survival rates of >= 85% as it is failed to be internalized. The interactive effects between M-BC/N-BC and Cd reduced the mobility of Cd, leading to low avoidance behavior of E. foetida. The synergistic effect of 0.1% M-BC and E. foetida caused pH regulation, BC diffusion and alternation of soil microbial community in the soil. This favored the remediation of Cd-contaminated soils with 56.2% Cd fixation efficiency identified. Conversely, internalization of Cd-loaded N-BC by E. foetida was recorded when 0.1% N-BC was amended in the soil. This triggered DNA damage, antioxidant suppression, antiapoptotic inhibition, digestion impairment, reproductive decline, and survival rates reduction (55%) in E. foetida, indicating the essential role of E. foetida in the soil is likely to be depressed. These findings are helpful to understand the potential negative effects of BC application in soil remediation.

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) shows promise for remediating Cd-contaminated soil due to its significant Cd accumulation capabilities. Although various tobacco varieties exhibit distinct Cd bioaccumulation capacities, a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms is lacking. This study, conducted using hydroponics, explores differences in Cd accumulation and tolerance mechanisms between two tobacco varieties, Basma and Yunyan 87. The results showed that Cd stress reduced the dry weight, tolerance index, and root morphology for both varieties. Basma exhibited a relatively smaller decline in these indices compared to Yunyan 87. Moreover, Basma demonstrated a higher Cd bioconcentration factor (BCF), concentration, and accumulated content, signifying its superior tolerance and bioaccumulation capacity to Cd compared to Yunyan 87. The Carbonyl Cyanide3-ChloroPhenylhydrazone (CCCP) addition resulted in reduced Cd accumulation and BCFs in both tobacco species. This effect was more pronounced in Basma, suggesting that Basma relies more on an active transport process than Yunyan 87. This could potentially explain its enhanced bioaccumulation ability. Subcellular Cd distribution analysis revealed Basma's preference for distributing Cd in soluble fractions, while Yunyan 87 favoured the cell wall fractions. Transmission electron microscope showed that Basma's organelles were less damaged than Yunyan 87's under Cd stress, possibly contributing to the superior tolerance of Basma. Therefore, these results provided a theoretical foundation for development of Cd-contaminated soil tobacco remediation technology. [GRAPHICS] .

Landfilling is common in developing countries since it is the easiest and cheapest way of waste disposal, however, it leads to serious environmental problems such as soil, water, and air pollution. A landfill has a life span of fifteen years after which it is closed leaving the site unusable, as a result, effective methods are needed for restoring and reclaiming the closed landfill site for future use. Phytoremediation has emerged as a viable and environmentally friendly method, which uses green plants to remove pollutants from soil, air, and water. In this study, Medicago sativa (alfalfa) and Trifolium repens (white clover) were planted in a pot trial as monocropped and intercropped in polluted soil collected from a landfill site to investigate stress tolerance and the extent of bioaccumulation of Cr, Mn, Ni, and Zn. All the plants remained healthy throughout the trial, with no signs of phytotoxicity except for monocropped white clover plants that showed stunted growth and eventually died. Intercropping resulted in the reduction of metals and their toxic effects in the soil which in turn limited the uptake of metals by both plants as a defence strategy against metal stress which resulted in lower amounts of metals in the intercropped plants compared to monocropped plants. The roots absorbed a significant amount of Zinc (Zn), Nickel (Ni), and Manganese (Mn) in the roots than the leaves. The concentration of Chromium (Cr) was significantly higher than the other metals in all the plants and there was no significant difference in the concentration of Cr in the roots and leaves. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) chromatographs, revealed greater damage in the tissues of monocropped plants than the intercropped plants, demonstrating that inter- cropping enhances plant growth and development by reducing the toxic effects of biotic stress such as metals in the soil than monocropping. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) revealed flavonoids as the main secondary metabolites that promoted resilience to biotic and abiotic stressors in Trifolium repens while saponins were found to play a similar major role in Medicago sativa.

This study systemically investigated the enantioselective bioaccumulation and degradation of etoxazole (ETZ) in earthworms along with the transcriptome and oxidative stress responses to ETZ enantiomer exposure. Based on the M-shaped bioaccumulation trends for ETZ enantiomers, R-ETZ was found to be preferentially bioaccumulated in earthworms. Sublethal toxicity analysis showed that S-ETZ induced greater changes in protein content, malondialdehyde content, detoxifying metabolic enzyme activity, and oxidative stress in earthworms, compared to those induced by R-ETZ. Integrated biomarker response analysis suggested that S-ETZ induced higher sublethal toxicity in earthworms than R-ETZ. Finally, transcriptomic analysis indicated that 845 and 314 genes were differentially expressed after R-ETZ and S-ETZ exposure, respectively, when compared to the nonexposed control group. Enrichment analysis indicated that these differentially expressed genes were primarily enriched in the digestion and absorption of proteins, lysosome, peroxisome, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathways. These results suggest that earthworms exhibit distinct enantioselective responses to S-ETZ and R-ETZ. This study elucidates the enantioselective bioaccumulation, degradation, transcriptome, and oxidative stress characteristics of ETZ enantiomers in earthworms at the enantiomer level, offering a theoretical foundation to improve the risk assessment of ETZ in the soil-earthworm microsomes.

Heavy metals (HM) are toxic to the microbiota of agricultural soils because they affect the development of bacteria and fungi that promote plant growth and are agents of biological control of pathogenic organisms. In this regard, fungi ofthe genus Trichoderma have these functions in plants, but like other organisms, HM affects their growth and biological activity. This article reviews the lithogenic and anthropogenic sources of generation of HM Cu, Cr-VI, Pb, and Cd, the tolerance mechanisms, and the antioxidant response to oxidative damage in Trichoderma caused by HM. It was identified that in some agricultural soils, the HM content increases mainly due to irrigation with wastewater and the intensive use of agrochemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers. In Trichoderma, the tolerance mechanisms to Cu, Cr-VI, Pb, and Cd include biosorption, bioaccumulation, and biotransformation. In contrast, studies of the antioxidant response of Trichoderma to oxidative stress caused by MP are scarce. In the case of Cu and Cr, a relationship between changes in antioxidant enzyme activity and a decrease in the oxidation of cell membrane lipids is reported. This represents an opportunity to understand the toxic effect of MP on fungi of the genus Trichoderma, which is part of the biotic soil community.

Large quantities of chlordecone-based insecticides were produced and used throughout the world. One of its most important uses was to control the damage caused by Cosmopolites sordidus in banana-growing regions. In the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, 18,000 ha of farmland are potentially contaminated. Despite the key role played by soil macrofauna in agroecosystems, there are currently no data on their contamination. The aim of this study was to explore the fate of chlordecone (CLD) and its transfer to different organisms of the soil food web. Seven species of invertebrates representing different taxonomic groups and trophic levels of the soil communities of Martinique were targeted and collected in six experimental banana fields, with a level of contamination within a range of values classically observed. Soil samples and macrofauna from the study sites were analysed for CLD and chlordecol (CLDOH) its main transformation product. The contamination of the soil fauna were related to delta 15N 15 N (trophic level), proportion of soil ingestion (diet) and types of epidermis (mucus or exoskeleton) in order to study the different mechanisms of macrofauna contamination. Presence of CLD and CLDOH could be quantified in all the soil organisms from contaminated fields. Results showed a significant relationship between the CLD contamination of detritivorous and the ash content of their faeces, suggesting that soil ingestion was the main contamination pathway. In contrast, the exoskeleton-bearing diplopod Trigoniulus coralinus and the soft-bodied earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae, both detritivores with a comparable diet, had similar contamination levels, suggesting that the type of tegument has little influence on bioaccumulation. At the scale of the entire trophic network, a significant relationship was uncovered between delta 15N 15 N values and CLD contamination of the fauna, therefore providing some in situ evidence for a bioamplification process along the soil food chain.