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[Effects of Different Microplastics in Soil on Nitrogen Absorption and Metabolism in Lettuce （Lactuca sativa L.）].
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Researchers conducted pot experiments comparing the effects of degradable (PLA and PBAT) and non-degradable (PE) microplastics on nitrogen absorption and metabolism in lettuce, finding that different polymer types exert distinct influences on plant nitrogen utilization pathways.
To illuminate the differences in the effects of different types of microplastics （MPs， size<5 mm） on crop nitrogen absorption and metabolism， the degradable polylactic acid （PLA） and polybutylene terephthalate （PBAT） and undegradable polyethylene （PE） were selected for vegetable pot experiments with three doses （0.5%， 1%， and 3%）. The responses of inorganic nitrogen content， plant growth， nitrogen absorption， and metabolism enzyme activity to soil MPs pollution in the soil-lettuce （Lactuca sativa L.） system was investigated. The results showed that MPs significantly hindered the decomposition of soil organic carbon （SOC） and reduction and accumulation of nitrate （NO3--N） in lettuce， while increasing soil C/N and ammonium （NH4+-N） content. The total nitrogen （TN） content of soil under the PE treatment was lower than that of the PLA and PBAT treatments for 0.25-0.52 g·kg-1 and 0.33-0.52 g·kg-1， respectively. PBAT treated lettuce had significantly lower dry weight and accumulated N uptake compared to those in the PLA and PE treatments （P<0.05）. The 1% dose resulted in the lowest antioxidant enzyme and nitrate reductase （NR） activities and the highest malondialdehyde （MDA） content， with NR activity and MDA content being 15.19%-42.0% and 2.68-3.11 times of the control， respectively. Regarding to the mechanism， N uptake by lettuce was significantly negatively correlated with SOC （P<0.01）. In summary， the MPs input to soil can reduce the activity of N metabolism enzymes in lettuce. The degradable PBAT significantly reduced the N uptake， and the oxidative damage to lettuce was greater under moderate pollution.
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