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Microplastics and co-pollutant with ciprofloxacin affect interactions between free-floating macrophytes
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Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics and ciprofloxacin co-pollutants altered competitive interactions between free-floating macrophytes, with combined exposure affecting plant growth and physiological responses differently than individual pollutant exposure.
Microplastic and antibiotic contamination are considered an increasing environmental problem in aquatic systems, while little is known about the impact of microplastics and co-pollutant with antibiotics on freshwater vascular plants, particularly the effects of interactions between macrophytes. Here, we performed a mesocosm experiment to evaluate the impact of polyethylene-microplastics and their co-pollutants with ciprofloxacin on the growth and physiological characteristics of Spirodela polyrhiza and Lemna minor and the interactions between these two macrophytes. Our results showed that microplastics alone cannot significantly influence fresh weight and specific leaf area of the two test free-floating macrophytes, but the effects on photosynthetic pigments, malondialdehyde, catalase and soluble sugar contents were species-specific. Ciprofloxacin can significant adverse effects on the growth and physiological traits of the two test macrophytes and microplastic mitigated the toxicity of ciprofloxacin on the two free-floating plants to a certain extent. In addition, our studies showed that microplastics and co-pollutants can influence relative yield and competitiveness of S. polyrhiza and L. minor by directly or indirectly influencing their physiology and growth. Therefore our findings suggest that species-specific sensibility to microplastic and its co-pollutant among free-floating macrophytes may influence macrophyte population dynamics and thereby community structure and ecosystem functioning. And microplastics altered other contaminant behaviours and toxicity, and may directly or indirectly influence macrophytes interactions and community structure. The present study is the first experimental study exploring the effects of microplastics alone and with their co-pollutants on interactions between free-floating macrophytes, which can provide basic theoretical guidance for improving the stability of freshwater ecosystems.
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Responses of submerged macrophytes to different particle size microplastics and tetracycline co-pollutants at the community and population level
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Researchers set up outdoor experimental ponds to study how microplastics of different sizes combined with the antibiotic tetracycline affect communities of underwater aquatic plants. Smaller microplastics caused more harm to plant diversity and growth, and the combined exposure with antibiotics created worse effects than either pollutant alone. The study suggests that microplastic pollution could amplify the damage antibiotics cause to freshwater plant ecosystems.
Combined toxic effects of enrofloxacin and microplastics on submerged plants and epiphytic biofilms in high nitrogen and phosphorus waters
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Researchers studied the combined effects of the antibiotic enrofloxacin and microplastics on the submerged plant Myriophyllum verticillatum in nutrient-rich water. The study found that while microplastics alone had little effect, their combination with enrofloxacin produced synergistic toxic effects, reducing the plant's ability to absorb nitrogen and phosphorus and decreasing photosynthetic pigment content.
Nanoplastics and their combined effects with sulphamethoxazole on the free-floating aquatic plant Lemna major
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Researchers studied the combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole on free-floating freshwater organisms, examining how co-exposure to these two pollutants interacts compared to individual exposures. Nanoplastics altered the bioavailability and toxicity of the antibiotic, demonstrating complex mixture effects in aquatic systems.
Multiple stressors may pose greater risks to macrophyte community dynamics by driving complex and unanticipated higher-order interactions
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Researchers ran a full-factorial mesocosm experiment exposing two free-floating macrophyte species to microplastics, antibiotics, and antiviral drugs alone and in combination, finding that multi-stressor interactions were predominantly antagonistic at moderate levels but context-dependent — capable of reversing to enhanced toxicity under different conditions — highlighting the unpredictability of higher-order contaminant interactions for freshwater plant communities.
Synergistic Pollution: Interactions Among Polyethylene, Surfactants, and Antibiotics in an Aquatic Environment
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Researchers investigated synergistic pollution effects among polyethylene microplastics, surfactants, and antibiotics in aquatic systems, finding that co-presence enhanced the environmental persistence and bioavailability of antibiotics beyond what microplastics or surfactants caused individually.
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