Effect and mechanism of silver nanoparticles on nitrogen transformation in water-sediment system of a hypereutrophic lake

Abstract Industrialization and urbanization are expected to increase the release of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) into aquatic ecosystems. However, it remains to be determined how AgNPs influence nitrogen transformation and the underlying mechanism in natural water bodies. Here, the impact of AgNPs on nitrogen cycling in water-sediment system of a hypereutrophic lake was studied and the mechanism of nitrogen transformation was investigated in terms of the nitrogen functional enzymes and genes. Following 7 days of water-sediment microcosm experiments, the levels of total nitroten (TN) and organic nitrogen (Org N) were significantly increased by 50 mg/L Ag+ treatment when compared with the non-Ag control (P