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Dose-dependent toxicity of polyethylene microplastics (PE–MPs) on physiological and biochemical response of blackgram and its associated rhizospheric soil properties
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Researchers tested different concentrations of polyethylene microplastics on blackgram plants and their surrounding soil. They found that higher microplastic levels significantly reduced plant growth, photosynthesis, and yield while also altering soil properties and microbial activity. The study demonstrates a dose-dependent relationship, with the most severe impacts occurring at the highest microplastic concentrations.
Microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystem is emerging as a global threat due to rapid production of plastic waste and its mismanagement. It affects all living organisms including plants. Hence, the current study aims at understanding the effect of polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) at different concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00% w/w) on the plant growth and yield attributes. With blackgram as a test crop, results revealed that a maximum reduction in physiological traits like photosynthetic rate; chlorophyll a, b; and total chlorophyll by 5, 14, 10, and 13% at flowering stage; and an increase in biochemical traits like ascorbic acid, malondialdehyde, proline, superoxide dismutase, and catalase by 11, 29.7, 16, 22, and 30% during vegetative stage was observed with 1% PE-MP application. Moreover, a reduction in growth and yield attributes was also observed with increasing concentration of microplastics. Additionally, application of 1% PE-MPs decreased the soil bulk density, available phosphorus, and potassium, whereas the EC, organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, NO-N, and NH-N significantly increased. Moreover, the presence of PE-MPs in soil also had a significant influence on the soil enzyme activities. Metagenomic analysis (16 s) reveals that at genus level, Bacillus (19%) was predominant in control, while in 1% PE-MPs, Rubrobacter (28%) genus was dominant. Microvirga was found exclusively in T, while the relative abundance of Gemmatimonas declined from T to T. This study thus confirms that microplastics exert a dose-dependent effect on soil and plant characteristics.
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