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Role of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Reshaping Rhizosphere Bacterial and Fungal Microbiomes Under Multi-Metal–Microplastic Composite Pollution in Spinach
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Researchers grew spinach under cadmium, lead, polylactic acid microplastic, and combined contamination, finding that inoculating plants with growth-promoting bacteria restored height and biomass while shifting rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities toward greater diversity and enhanced nutrient cycling, with bacteria and fungi responding differently to the combined pollution stress.
Microplastics (MPs) often co-occur with heavy metals (HMs), posing combined stress that inhibits plant growth. While plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are known to alleviate heavy metal toxicity, their role under MP–HM co-contamination and the differential responses of rhizosphere microbial communities remain unclear. This study evaluated the effects of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), polylactic acid (PLA) MPs, and their combined contamination on spinach growth using pot experiments, and assessed the mitigation potential of two PGPB strains. PGPB inoculation significantly increased plant height and dry weight. High-throughput sequencing revealed that pollution treatments and PGPB altered rhizosphere bacterial and fungal community composition and diversity. Microbial shifts were closely associated with soil chemical properties and plant growth. Notably, bacteria and fungi exhibited distinct response patterns to combined stress and remediation. Functional prediction (PICRUSt2) indicated that microbial communities enhanced metabolic processes and nutrient (N and P) cycling to cope with stress. PGPB inoculation reduced heavy metal toxicity, improved soil nutrient status (P and K), increased microbial diversity, and regulated microbial functions, thereby supporting soil ecological stability. These findings provide insights into rhizosphere microbial mechanisms and support the application of PGPB for remediation of MP–HM co-contaminated soils.
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Regulatory Mechanisms of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Alleviating Microplastic and Heavy Metal Combined Pollution: Insights from Plant Growth and Metagenomic Analysis
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Researchers used metagenomic sequencing to investigate how plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) mitigate the combined toxicity of microplastics and heavy metals on plant growth. PGPB inoculation restored rhizosphere microbial function and reduced plant stress, revealing microbiome-mediated mechanisms for alleviating mixed pollutant toxicity.
Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum
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Researchers found that beneficial soil bacteria (PGPR) can help plants cope with the combined stress of polypropylene microplastics and the toxic heavy metal cadmium. The bacteria improved plant growth by 8-42% under contaminated conditions by reshaping the microbial community around plant roots. This study offers a potential strategy for maintaining crop productivity in farmland contaminated with both microplastics and heavy metals.
[Plant Growth-promoting Bacteria Alleviate the Toxic Effects of Soil Microplastics and Heavy Metal Complex Pollution in Hybrid pennisetum].
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Researchers investigated whether plant growth-promoting bacteria (Enterobacter and Bacillus spp.) could alleviate combined polypropylene microplastic and cadmium stress on Hybrid pennisetum in pot experiments, finding that inoculation improved plant growth and soil nutrient availability while shifting rhizosphere bacterial communities toward more beneficial compositions.
Screening of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria helps alleviate the joint toxicity of PVC+Cd pollution in sorghum plants
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Researchers isolated soil bacteria that promote plant growth and showed they can partially offset the combined toxicity of PVC microplastics and cadmium in sorghum, restoring soil nutrient availability and shifting rhizosphere bacterial communities in ways that support nitrogen and phosphorus cycling.
Beneficial microbial consortia effectively alleviated plant stress caused by the synergistic toxicity of microplastics and cadmium
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Researchers found that combined pollution from microplastics (PVC) and the heavy metal cadmium creates a toxic effect in soil that is worse than either pollutant alone. However, applying beneficial bacteria to contaminated soil helped plants grow better and restored soil nutrients. These findings suggest that probiotic-like bacteria could help repair farmland damaged by microplastic and heavy metal pollution.
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