BACKGROUND Because of their antimicrobial properties, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used and have come into contact with the environment. In the present work, an effect of AgNPs on a standard soil organism, Folsomia candida, was studied (in comparison to silver nitrate) focusing on molecular and cellular alterations as ecotoxicological endpoints. RESULTS At the molecular level...

Mycelial development of Phanerochaete velutina extending from wood inocula in 57 x 57 cm trays of non-sterile soil was characterized after adding: (1) collembola; (2) new wood resources; (3) both new wood resources and collembola; and (4) no new resources and no collembola. After 99 d, all systems had produced distinct mycelial cords, much of the diffuse mycelium and thinner cords that were pro...

The ongoing climate change may strongly impact soil biodiversity with cascading effects on the processes they drive. Thus, it is of prime interest to improve our knowledge about responses by organisms such as collembolans expected shifts in environmental conditions considering communities comprising both detritivores and predators. aim present study was evaluate how simulated predation under la...

Since the 'omics revolution', the assessment of toxic chemical mixtures has incorporated approaches where phenotypic endpoints are connected to a mechanistic understanding of toxicity. In this study we determined the effect of binary mixtures of cadmium and phenanthrene on the reproduction of Folsomia candida and investigated the cellular mechanisms underlying this response. Mixture toxicity mo...

In the present study, the effect of the heavy-metal salt copper chloride (CuCl2.2H2O) in soils freshly spiked (3 d) and aged (70 +/- 10 d; mean +/- SD) was studied in the test species Enchytraeus albidus, E. luxuriosus, and Folsomia candida. Up to nine soils were used: Besides the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) artificial soil and the Agricultural Testing and Rese...