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Microplastics in the Soil at Sub‐Toxic Concentrations Cause Metabolic Changes Decreasing Fungal Pathogen Susceptibility in Arabidopsis thaliana
Summary
This laboratory study grew the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in soil containing PET or PVC microplastics and then challenged the plants with a fungal pathogen. Surprisingly, low concentrations of PVC microplastics appeared to prime the plant's immune response, making it more resistant to infection — demonstrated by smaller fungal lesions and higher levels of defensive compounds. However, PVC also reduced plant biomass, and the overall picture was mixed rather than uniformly harmful or beneficial. The results highlight the complex, concentration-dependent ways microplastics can interfere with plant-pathogen interactions in agricultural soils.
To unravel the complex interactions between microplastics (MPs), plants, and pathogens, Arabidopsis thaliana plants were grown for 3 weeks in soils containing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) MPs (0.2% and 0.5% w/w), and leaves were then exposed to the PAMP (Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern) protein cerato-platanin (CP) or Botrytis cinerea conidia. PET caused a stimulation of stomatal conductance, and PVC decreased the aboveground biomass of A. thaliana plants. PVC (0.2%) triggered a primed state in A. thaliana, enhancing its response to B. cinerea infection and cerato-platanin. This was demonstrated by decreased lesion size, enhanced ROS generation, and elevated camalexin synthesis following PAMP elicitation, and increased levels of defensive isothiocyanate and phenylpropanoid metabolites. Our results indicate that MPs also affect soil structure, ionome balance, and specialised metabolite accumulation. However, MPs did not provide an unambiguous response, underscoring challenges in formulating a model of plant response to MPs when exposed to pathogens.