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Effect of polylactic acid microplastics and lead on the growth and physiological characteristics of buckwheat
Summary
This study explored how biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics and lead, a toxic heavy metal, affect buckwheat growth when present alone or together in growing conditions. Researchers found that low concentrations of the microplastics slightly promoted shoot growth, but high concentrations of both pollutants together inhibited plant growth and triggered oxidative stress responses. The findings suggest that even biodegradable plastics can interact with heavy metals to create combined effects on crop health.
Microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals are common, often co-existing pollutants, that threaten crop growth and productivity worldwide. We analysed the adsorption of lead ions (Pb) to polylactic acid MPs (PLA-MPs) and their single factor and combined effects on tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum L. Gaertn.) in hydroponics by measuring changes in the growth characteristics, antioxidant enzyme activities and Pb uptake of buckwheat in response to PLA-MPs and Pb. PLA-MPs adsorbed Pb, and the better fitting second-order adsorption model implied that Pb was adsorbed by chemisorption. However, the similar Pb contents in the plants treated with Pb only and those treated with the combined PLA-MPs-Pb suggested that the adsorption played no role in the uptake of Pb. Low concentrations of PLA-MPs promoted shoot length. At high concentrations of both PLA-MPs and Pb, buckwheat growth was inhibited, and leaf peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were higher than in the control. No significant differences were observed in seedling growth between exposure to Pb only and combined exposure to PLA-MPs with Pb, implying that PLA-MPs did not increase the toxicity of Pb at macroscopic level. POD activity was higher and chlorophyll content was lower with PLA-MPs in the low Pb dose treatments, suggesting that PLA-MPs may increase the toxicity of naturally occurring Pb. However, the conclusions must be verified in controlled experiments in natural soil conditions over the whole cultivation period of buckwheat.