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Toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics during transport and redistribution in distinct plant species: A combined split-root experiment and metabolomic analysis
Summary
Researchers used a split-root system to study how polystyrene nanoplastics travel through the root-shoot-root pathway and cause toxicity in cucumber and maize seedlings. The study found that nanoplastics inhibited growth in both exposed and unexposed roots, with cucumber showing greater sensitivity than maize, and metabolomic analysis revealed distinct disruptions in plant metabolism during nanoplastic transport and redistribution.
Nanoplastics (NPs) can undergo long-distance transport via the "root-shoot-root" pathway, yet their systemic toxicity during this process remains unclear. Using a split-root system, this study investigated the toxic effects of polystyrene (PS) NPs translocation and redistribution in cucumber (dicot) and maize (monocot) seedlings. NPs exhibited stronger growth inhibition in exposed root (E-R) than unexposed root (UE-R). Cucumber demonstrated higher sensitivity to NPs than maize. Under 10 mg L 30 nm NPs treatment, fresh weight and root length inhibition in cucumber's UE-R were 2.11- and 1.55-fold higher than in maize's, respectively. Chlorophyll content decreased by 7.69 % in cucumber leaves but remained unchanged in maize. Confocal microscopy revealed 15.08 % and 47.61 % higher ROS fluorescence intensity in E-R versus UE-R for cucumber and maize, respectively. In cucumber's UE-R, SOD and POD activities increased by 21.85 % and 39.31 %, whereas only SOD activity significantly rose in maize's UE-R. Cucumber's UE-R showed significant losses of Mg, Mn, Ca, and K, while fewer elements were affected in maize's. Metabolomics identified differential reprogramming of organic acids, amino acids, and other metabolites in both species under NPs stress. These findings advance understanding of NPs translocation-induced phytotoxicity and highlight ecological risks of NPs accumulation in agroecosystems.
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