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The Effects of Different Sizes of Microplastics and Glyphosate Single and Combined Stress on Purple Duckweed
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Scientists tested how tiny plastic particles (microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics) and the weedkiller glyphosate affect a small water plant called purple duckweed, both alone and combined. They found that glyphosate, not the plastics, was the main thing stunting root growth, but the plant ramped up its own antioxidant defenses to cope with the stress from both pollutants. This matters because it shows these plastics and chemicals often show up together in water systems, and understanding how plants respond can help us predict how these combined pollutants might move through the food chain and affect broader ecosystem health.
微塑料污染对生态系统和人类健康具有一定影响，已成为世界上最严重的环境问题之一。近年来，微塑料对植物生长和发育的影响受到了广泛关注。其不仅可以对植物形成直接胁迫，还可以通过吸附其他有机或无机污染物，形成联合污染。本研究主要探索了不同大小、微塑料分别与草甘膦联合胁迫对漂浮植物紫萍的生态毒性效应。实验结果表明：草甘膦显著减少了紫萍根的数目，PS及其大小对紫萍的根的数目并无显著影响；维生素C，可溶性糖，可溶性蛋白，SOD和APX活性进一步提高，大大降低了草甘膦带来的抑制作用，微米塑料诱导SOD和POD活性的增加，而纳米塑料则主要诱导POD和APX活性的增加。Microplastic pollution has a certain impact on ecosystems and human health, and has become one of the most serious environmental problems in the world. In recent years, the impact of microplastics on plant growth and development has received widespread attention. It can not only directly stress plants, but also form joint pollution by adsorbing other organic or inorganic pollutants. This study mainly explored the ecological toxicity effects of different sizes and microplastics combined with glyphosate stress on floating plant purple duckweed. The experimental results showed that glyphosate significantly reduced the number of purple duckweed roots, while PS and its size had no significant effect on the number of purple duckweed roots; Vitamin C, soluble sugars, soluble proteins, SOD and APX activities were further increased, greatly reducing the inhibitory effect of glyphosate. Microplastics induced an increase in SOD and POD activities, while nanoplastics mainly induced an increase in POD and APX activities.
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