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Joint effects of microplastics and ciprofloxacin on their toxicity and fates in wheat: A hydroponic study
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Researchers found that microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin jointly affected wheat growth in hydroponic conditions, with microplastics altering ciprofloxacin uptake and toxicity while the antibiotic influenced microplastic accumulation in plant tissues.
The toxicological impacts of microplastics (MPs) and antibiotics in the soil environment have gradually drawn widespread attention, while little research has focused on the combined pollution of MPs and antibiotics on plants. In this work, a 21-day hydroponic study was conducted to test the hypothesis that polystyrene MPs (0.1, 1 and 10 μm particle sizes, 50 mg/L) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) (1.0 and 5.0 mg/L) had a joint toxicity to wheat seedlings and they could be absorbed by wheat. Plant samples were taken for analyses after 21 days of exposure. The results showed that 0.1 and 1 μm MP could enter wheat roots but only the former could translocate to aerial parts. Moreover, 0.1 μm MP showed a greater toxicity effect than 1 μm MP, whereas 10 μm MP exhibited little toxicity on wheat. The dosing of 0.1 μm MP significantly increased the toxic effects of CIP to wheat. Compared to the control treatment (without MPs and CIP), 0.1 μm MPs-5.0 mg/L CIP treatment resulted in inhibition of root length and weight by 60.1% and 44.3%, respectively, while the contents of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b decreased by 36.3% and 44.6%, respectively. The presence of CIP (5.0 mg/L) potentially aggravated the combined toxicity. The exposure of 0.1 μm MP significantly reduced root superoxide distumase activity but increased root malondialdehyde content. The amount of CIP in wheat tissues carried by MPs was negligible compared with the uptake quantity of CIP by wheat.
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Combined effects of oxytetracycline and microplastic on wheat seedling growth and associated rhizosphere bacterial communities and soil metabolite profiles
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Researchers examined how the antibiotic oxytetracycline combined with polyethylene microplastics affects wheat seedling growth and soil microbial communities. They found that high concentrations of the antibiotic combined with microplastics significantly reduced seedling growth and altered the bacterial communities around the roots. The study reveals that the co-presence of antibiotics and microplastics in agricultural soils may create compounding negative effects on crop health.
Polyamide Microplastics and Common Antimicrobials in Treated Wastewater: Unveiling their Effects on Rice Plant Growth and Soil Microbiome dynamics
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Researchers exposed rice plants to polyamide microplastics and three antimicrobials — sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and triclosan — individually and in combination, finding that microplastics enhanced uptake of two antimicrobials into plant tissues and drove 100–200-fold increases in soil antibiotic resistance genes, revealing compounding risks when these co-contaminants interact in agricultural soils.
Polystyrene and Azithromycin Co-Contamination: Comparative Analysis of Microbial Shifts in the Rhizosphere vs. Bulk Soil under Wheat Growth
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Scientists found that when tiny plastic particles and a common antibiotic mix together in soil, they disrupt beneficial microbes around wheat roots more than either pollutant does alone. This matters because healthy soil microbes help crops grow and cycle nutrients, so this combined pollution could quietly affect food production as both microplastics and pharmaceuticals build up in farmland over time.
Stress response to oxytetracycline and microplastic-polyethylene in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during seed germination and seedling growth stages
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Researchers investigated the combined effects of the antibiotic oxytetracycline and polyethylene microplastics on wheat seed germination and seedling growth. The study found that while oxytetracycline caused direct toxicity to plant growth, the presence of microplastics modified the antibiotic's effects in complex ways, reprogramming metabolic profiles in wheat leaves differently than either contaminant alone.
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.
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