NMR-based metabolomics using earthworms as potential indicators for soil health

Soil health is key for sustainable productivity and adaptation to climate change. Agricultural practice can significantly impact on soil health. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of two land management regimes on organisms (earthworms) that may be used as indicators for soil health via NMR metabolomics. Earthworms are important in the soil decomposition process and viewed as a sentinel species in soil. The presence/absence of earthworm species and their relative abundances provide a gross indication of the health of the soil and it is expected that land use would affect earthworm metabolism as the populations rose or declined in response to changing soil health parameters. In order to test this hypothesis metabolomics approaches were employed to determine if biological indicators of soil change can be detected. Two species of earthworms, an unidentified native species and the European species Aporrectodea caliginosa, were collected from properties in Victoria, Australia where the land was treated with either biological (organic) or conventional (chemical) treatment regimes. Both lipid and aqueous NMR metabolomics for earthworms was employed, demonstrating that class classifications can be achieved with both datasets and provide orthogonal, complementary, chemical information. The study indicates that land-use has a measurable effect on the biochemistry of worm populations. Potential biomarkers of land use and worm stress were found, including elevated levels of glucose, maltose, alanine and triacylglycerides. This study demonstrates the utility of NMR metabolomics approaches in detecting biomarkers related to land treatment regimes and potentially soil health attributes.