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Impact of microplastics on plants: a transcriptome analysis perspective
Summary
This review examined how microplastic exposure disrupts plant biology at the transcriptome level, showing that species like Arabidopsis and maize exhibit differential expression of hundreds to thousands of genes affecting nutrient uptake, growth, and stress responses. Because these molecular disruptions can propagate through food webs, microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils represents a compounding threat to crop productivity and ecosystem stability.
Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, are increasingly recognized as significant environmental pollutants that substantially impact terrestrial ecosystems. Their accumulation in agricultural soils is a growing concern because of its potential adverse effects on soil health, microbial communities, and plant development. MPs have been shown to alter soil structure and water retention, disrupt rhizosphere microbial interactions, and impair plant growth by interfering with nutrient uptake and physiological processes of plants. At the molecular level, transcriptome profiling of species such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Zea mays has demonstrated that exposure to MPs induces extensive differential gene expression, affecting hundreds to thousands of genes. The transcriptomic disruptions not only compromise plant resilience but may also propagate through food webs, thereby diminishing the stability and productivity of ecosystems. Despite increasing awareness, the comprehensive impact of MPs on terrestrial environments remains insufficiently explored in the literature. This review examines findings at the physiological, soil-microbial, and transcriptome levels to elucidate how MPs reshape plant gene networks and ecosystem function, emphasizing the urgent need for targeted research and mitigation strategies to protect soil health, crop productivity, and ecological resilience in the context of escalating MPs pollution.