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Assessing the combined impacts of microplastics and nickel oxide nanomaterials on soybean growth and nitrogen fixation potential
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This study tested how polystyrene microplastics and nickel oxide nanoparticles affect soybean growth and nitrogen fixation in soil. Microplastics alone reduced photosynthesis, plant hormones, and the beneficial root bacteria that help plants capture nitrogen from the air. While this is a plant and soil study, it demonstrates how microplastics can disrupt agricultural ecosystems that humans depend on for food production.
The excessive presence of polystyrene microplastic (PS-MPx) and nickel oxide nanomaterials (NiO-NPs) in agriculture ecosystem have gained serious attention about their effect on the legume root-nodule symbiosis and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). However, the impact of these contaminants on the root-nodule symbiosis and biological N-fixation have been largely overlooked. The current findings highlighted that NiO-NMs at 50 mg kg improved nodule formation and N-fixation potential, leading to enhanced N uptake by both roots and shoots, resulting in increased plant growth and development. While single exposure of PS-MPx (500 mg kg) significantly reduced the photosynthetic pigment (8-14 %), phytohormones (9-25 %), nodules biomass (24 %), N-related enzymes (12-17 %) that ultimately affected the N-fixation potential. Besides, co-exposure of MPx and NiO at 100 mg kg altered the nodule morphology. Additionally, single and co-exposure of MPx and NiO-NMs at 100 mg kg reduced the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadota, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes is associated with N-cycling and N-fixation potential. The findings of this study will contribute to understanding the potential risks posed by MPx and NiO-NMs to leguminous crops in the soil environment and provide scientific insights into the soybean N-fixation potential.
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Nanoplastics Pollution Threatens Sustainable Nitrogen Fixation in Agroecosystems by Disrupting Legume–Rhizobium Symbiosis
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Tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) can seriously interfere with the natural partnership between soybean plants and soil bacteria that pulls nitrogen from the air—a process crucial for plant growth and soil health without heavy fertilizer use. The smallest plastic particles tested caused the biggest damage, cutting nitrogen production by over half and stunting root nodule growth, which means more nanoplastic pollution in farm soil could eventually threaten crop yields and food supply. While this study looked at soil and plants rather than direct human health effects, it's a reminder that plastic pollution is working its way into the food system
Nanoplastic and nickel nanoparticles modulate soybean performance and nitrogen assimilation
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Tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) building up in soil can seriously stress soybean plants, damaging their cells and cutting their growth by up to half, while a small dose of a metal nanoparticle (nickel oxide) actually helped the plants grow better and fix more nitrogen from the air. Since soybeans are a major food and animal feed crop, this research matters because it shows how plastic pollution in farmland could quietly shrink harvests, while also revealing that not all nanoparticles are harmful, some engineering approaches might even help crops cope with environmental stress.
Sub-micron microplastics affect nitrogen cycling by altering microbial abundance and activities in a soil-legume system
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Researchers found that very small (sub-micron) polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics in soil significantly altered nitrogen cycling by changing the abundance and activity of bacteria around soybean roots. While the microplastics did not affect plant growth directly, they increased nitrogen uptake and shifted the balance of nitrogen-processing bacteria. These hidden changes to soil chemistry could have long-term effects on agricultural productivity and the nutritional quality of crops.
Nanoplastics Pollution Threatens Sustainable Nitrogen Fixation in Agroecosystems by Disrupting Legume–Rhizobium Symbiosis
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Tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) can get inside soybean plants and the helpful soil bacteria they depend on, seriously disrupting the natural process that converts air into plant fertilizer. The smallest plastic particles caused the most damage—cutting nitrogen production by half and shrinking the root nodules that support plant growth. Since this natural fertilization process is key to growing crops like soybeans without relying on chemical fertilizers, plastic pollution in soil could threaten food production and make our farming systems more dependent on synthetic fertilizers over time.
Effects of polyethylene microplastics and cadmium co-contamination on the soybean-soil system: Integrated metabolic and rhizosphere microbial mechanisms
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Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics and cadmium interact in soybean-soil systems and found that specific microplastic concentrations enhanced cadmium accumulation in roots under moderate contamination. Higher microplastic levels reduced beneficial soil bacteria like Sphingomonas and Bradyrhizobium and suppressed nitrogen-cycling functions. The study demonstrates that microplastics fundamentally alter heavy metal behavior through interconnected plant-metabolite-microbe interactions in agricultural soils.
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