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Polystyrene nanoplastics increase tetracycline residues while aggravating nutrient dysregulation and ultrastructural damage in the roots of Chrysanthemum coronarium L.
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Scientists found that when tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) and a common antibiotic (tetracycline) show up together in soil, the plastic causes edible plants like garland chrysanthemum to absorb and hold onto more of the antibiotic residue in their roots. This combo also damaged the plant's root cells and reduced important nutrients like potassium, calcium, and iron. Since these pollutants often mix in real-world farming environments, this matters because it suggests microplastic pollution could make antibiotic contamination in our food worse while also making crops less nutritious.
Polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and tetracycline (TC) increasingly co-occur in environments, raising concerns about their combined effects on edible plants. Previous studies have mainly focused on single-pollutant toxicity or isolated physiological endpoints, leaving the links among antibiotic retention, root-zone chemistry, nutrient status, and cellular injury unresolved. Here, Chrysanthemum coronarium L. was hydroponically exposed for 7 d to TC (10 mg L⁻¹), PS-NPs (5-15 mg L⁻¹), or their mixtures. PS-NPs increased parent TC residues measured in root tissues by 6.0-35.8%, cell wall represented the primary sink for TC within the subcellular fractions. Combined exposure reduced root fresh weight, aggravated ultrastructural damage, and decreased K, Ca, Fe, and Mg concentrations. Co-exposure also acidified the rhizosphere solution, increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC), altered fluorescent dissolved organic matter (DOM) characteristics, and reshaped bacterial community composition. Structural equation modeling revealed that changes in rhizosphere chemistry, particularly DOM dynamics, were the principal drivers influencing nutrient absorption and fresh weight reduction. Overall, PS-NPs enhanced TC retention in roots and intensified phytotoxicity, these findings provide mechanistic insight into how microplastic-antibiotic interactions regulate pollutant bioavailability, rhizosphere stability, and plant growth, emphasizing the importance of DOM in governing contaminant-nutrient interactions within plant systems.
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Tiny plastic particles in soil don't just harm crops on their own, when combined with things like antibiotics or pesticides, they can shrink plant growth and cause crops to soak up nearly twice as much antibiotic residue in their edible parts. Since this study used lab experiments with higher-than-typical pollutant levels over short time periods, more real-world research is needed, but the findings raise a flag: microplastic pollution in farm soil could be making other chemical contaminants in our food worse, not just adding a separate problem.
Aged polyethylene microplastics modulate herbicide and antibiotic bioavailability and plant responses: A case study with glyphosate and tetracycline
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles commonly found in farm soil can stick to plant roots and change how plants absorb harmful chemicals like pesticides and antibiotics. The plastic pieces made plants more stressed and damaged, reducing important nutrients like chlorophyll by 30%. This matters because it could affect the safety and quality of the food we eat, since these plastic particles are becoming more common in agricultural areas where our crops are grown.
Impact of polystyrene microplastics with combined contamination of norfloxacin and sulfadiazine on Chrysanthemum coronarium L.
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Researchers examined the single and combined effects of polystyrene microplastics, norfloxacin, and sulfadiazine on the medicinal food crop Chrysanthemum coronarium. The study found that combined exposure altered nutrient element accumulation and caused ultrastructural damage to plant cells, suggesting that the co-occurrence of microplastics and antibiotics in soil may pose compounded threats to crop safety.
Impacts of foliar-applied polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface charges on tetracycline accumulation, phytotoxicity, and the endophytic microbiota in Chrysanthemum coronarium L.
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Researchers applied polystyrene nanoplastics of different surface charges to chrysanthemum leaves and found that positively charged particles most strongly reduced antibiotic (tetracycline) uptake, suppressed iron absorption and chlorophyll production, and increased oxidative damage — while also reshaping the plant's internal microbiome — demonstrating that atmospheric nanoplastic deposition can alter both contaminant bioavailability and plant health.
Phytotoxic effects and rhizosphere microecological responses of peanut to oxytetracycline and microplastic co-exposure
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When peanuts grow in soil contaminated with both an antibiotic (oxytetracycline) and microplastics, the combination stresses the plants and disrupts the helpful bacteria living around their roots more than either pollutant alone. This matters because farm soils increasingly contain both types of pollution from things like manure and plastic waste, and understanding how they harm crops together — not just separately — is key to protecting our food supply and figuring out what ends up on our plates.
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