We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Impacts of biodegradable microplastics on rhizosphere bacterial communities of Arabidopsis thaliana: Insights into root hair-dependent colonization
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated how biodegradable microplastics from PBAT plastic affect the bacterial communities around plant roots, using two genotypes of Arabidopsis with different root hair lengths. They found that longer root hairs promoted greater bacterial colonization and diversity, and that biodegradable microplastics boosted enzyme activity and shifted bacterial community composition in the root zone. The findings suggest that the effects of biodegradable microplastics on soil health depend on plant root characteristics.
Biodegradable microplastics (MPs) affect plant health by altering rhizosphere microbial communities. Root hairs create a unique niche for diverse microbes, but the effects of biodegradable MPs on root hair-dependent bacterial colonization are unclear, particularly the direct relationship between microbes in the rhizosphere and bulk soil. Here, the effects of polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) MPs on root hair-dependent bacterial colonization and diversity in the rhizosphere were revealed using an absolute quantitative method and in-situ zymography with two genotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana (long root hair, wild-type, WT and short root hair, rop2-1 mutant, ROP). The results showed that rhizosphere enzyme activity hotspots, bacterial diversity, and colonization increased from ROP to WT plants. PBAT MPs reduced root hair-dependent bacterial colonization and β-glucosidase hotspots by 17.1 % and 9.8 %, respectively. Despite increasing bacterial absolute abundance in both rhizosphere and bulk soil, PBAT MPs diminished bacterial community modularity and shifted bacterial life strategies from K- to r-strategy via elevated rRNA (rrn) copy numbers and copiotroph/oligotroph ratio. This study indicated that PBAT MPs decreased root hair-dependent bacterial colonization and diversity in the rhizosphere by altering the microbial life history strategies and increasing copiotrophic abundance. This study explained the effects of PBAT MPs on rhizosphere bacterial colonization and diversity from the perspective of root hairs.
More Papers Like This
Negative effects of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) microplastics on Arabidopsis and its root-associated microbiome
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated the effects of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) biodegradable microplastics on Arabidopsis thaliana and its root-associated microbiome, finding that PBAT-MPs at tested concentrations in agricultural soil caused negative impacts on plant growth and altered the composition of root-zone microbial communities.
Negative effects of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) microplastics on Arabidopsis and its root-associated microbiome
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers found that the biodegradable plastic PBAT had greater inhibitory effects on Arabidopsis growth than conventional LDPE microplastics, disrupting photosynthesis and altering root-associated microbial communities in ways that suggest biodegradable plastics are not necessarily safer for soil ecosystems.
Conventional and biodegradable microplastics elicit contrasting taxon-level responses in rhizosphere microbiomes of maize and strawberry
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers grew maize and strawberry in soil spiked with LDPE, PET, or PBAT microplastics and profiled both total and actively growing rhizosphere microbial communities, finding that biodegradable PBAT selectively enriched putative polymer-degrading taxa regardless of plant species, while conventional microplastics caused broader community-wide compositional shifts.
Biodegradable PBAT microplastics adversely affect pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.) growth and the rhizosphere ecology: Focusing on rhizosphere microbial community composition, element metabolic potential, and root exudates
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers compared biodegradable PBAT plastic microplastics with conventional polyethylene microplastics in soil and found that the biodegradable version actually caused more harm to plant growth and soil health. PBAT microplastics reduced nutrient availability, disrupted the soil microbial community, and altered root chemistry more than conventional plastic. This finding challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always safer for the environment.
Effects of microplastics on common bean rhizosphere bacterial communities
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers studied how polyethylene and biodegradable microplastics affect bacterial communities in the root zone of common beans. Both types of microplastics significantly altered the diversity and composition of rhizosphere bacteria, with biodegradable microplastics inducing more distinctive changes than conventional polyethylene at higher concentrations.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.