Impact of manufactured nanoparticles on the catabolic capabilities and phenotypic structure of soil microbial communities

人造纳米颗粒已经在生物修复等环境应用中以多种方式使用，并被认为在农业新肥料等领域具有巨大潜力。不幸的是，人们对这种纳米颗粒对接受这种应用的土壤中微生物群落的结构和功能的影响知之甚少。这些群落对土壤的健康功能至关重要：它们支撑着食物和纤维的生产、养分的循环、流经它们的水的净化、有助于土壤结构的稳定性和抵御侵蚀的能力，并与植物密切互动以维持生物多样性，以及千年生态系统评估中确定的许多其他生态系统产品。因此，纳米颗粒对土壤群落正常功能的任何影响都可能是非常重要的。该方案的目的是利用成熟的技术，提供一些关于纳米颗粒是否、如何以及为什么对土壤微生物群落的正常组成和功能产生影响的非常基本的信息。这些数据将使我们能够将纳米颗粒的影响放在人类管理的其他系统的背景下，并指示与使用它们相关的风险程度。

Manufactured nanoparticles are being used in a number of ways already in environmental applications such as bioremediation, and have been mooted as having great potential in fields such as new fertilsers for agriculture. Unfortunately, very little is known about the impact such nanoparticles may have on the strucutre and function of the microbial communities which exist in the soils receiving such applications. These communities are essential for the healthy function of soils: they underpin the production of food and fibre, the cycling of nutrients, the purification of water flowing through them, contribute to soil structural stability and it's ability to resist erosion, and interact closely with plants to maintain biodiversity, amongst many other ecosystem goods identified in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. So any impacts of nanoparticles on the normal functioning of soil communities is potentially very significant. This programme is aimed at providing some very basic information as to if, how and why nanoparticles have any impact on the normal composition and function of the soil microbial community, using well established techniques. These data will enable us to put the impact of nanoparticles in the context of other systems managed by humans, and to indicate the degree of risk associated with their use.