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Assessment of the Effects of Biodegradable and Nonbiodegradable Microplastics Combined with Pesticides on the Soil Microbiota
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This study compared how biodegradable PLA and conventional PET microplastics, combined with common pesticides, affect soil microbial communities. Researchers found that PLA microplastics significantly increased microbial diversity but also enriched potentially harmful bacteria and elevated antibiotic resistance gene abundance more than PET, suggesting biodegradable plastics may pose underappreciated ecological risks in agricultural soils.
Microplastics (MPs) and pesticides pose significant threats to the health of soil ecosystems. This study investigated the individual and combined effects of biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) and nonbiodegradable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics alongside glyphosate and imidacloprid pesticides on soil microbial communities and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) via microcosm experiments. Compared with the control, PLA significantly increased microbial alpha diversity and enhanced microbial functions related to environmental information processing and metabolism. However, PLA also selectively enriched populations of beneficial and potentially pathogenic bacteria, whereas PET had comparatively weaker effects. Crucially, PLA exposure resulted in substantially higher total abundance and ecological risk levels of soil ARGs than did PET. Coexposure with pesticides further amplified these effects, with PLA demonstrating notable synergistic interactions with both glyphosate and imidacloprid. These findings challenge the conventional assumption that biodegradable MPs such as PLA are environmentally safer than nonbiodegradable MPs, thus highlighting their potential to induce more complex and potentially severe ecological risks under co-contamination scenarios with pesticides.
More Papers Like This
Assessment of the Effects of Biodegradable and NonbiodegradableMicroplastics Combined with Pesticides on the Soil Microbiota
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This study investigated how biodegradable (PLA) and non-biodegradable (PET) microplastics interact with glyphosate and imidacloprid pesticides in soil, finding that PLA increased microbial diversity while both microplastic types amplified the spread of antibiotic resistance genes when combined with pesticides.
Biodegradable microplastics exacerbate the risk of antibiotic resistance genes pollution in agricultural soils
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This study found that biodegradable plastics (PLA and PBAT), often promoted as eco-friendly alternatives, actually increased antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural soil more than conventional plastics like polyethylene. The biodegradable plastics promoted the growth of bacteria that carry resistance genes and enhanced the ability of these genes to spread between organisms. These findings challenge the assumption that switching to biodegradable plastics will reduce environmental and health risks in farming.
Divergent impacts of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on pesticide fate and toxicity in a soil–chive system, underscoring a soil-plant-microbe disruption
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Researchers found that biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics, despite being marketed as eco-friendly, significantly delayed pesticide degradation in soil and increased plant uptake of a toxic pesticide metabolite by up to 59%. PLA disrupted beneficial soil bacteria and interfered with plant detoxification pathways, while conventional polyethylene microplastics had comparatively milder effects. The study suggests that biodegradable plastics may pose unexpected risks when they interact with pesticides in agricultural soils.
The combination of microplastics and glyphosate affects the microbiome of soil inhabitant Enchytraeus crypticus
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Researchers tested how microplastics and the common herbicide glyphosate affect soil health when present together. Biodegradable PLA plastic combined with glyphosate had the most damaging effects on both soil bacteria and the gut microbiome of soil worms, worse than conventional PET plastic. These results suggest that using biodegradable plastics alongside pesticides in agriculture may pose greater ecological risks than previously thought.
Potential environmental risks of field bio/non-degradable microplastic from mulching residues in farmland: Evidence from metagenomic analysis of plastisphere
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Researchers analyzed the microbes living on biodegradable and conventional plastic mulch fragments in farm soil and found that both types harbored antibiotic resistance genes and disease-causing bacteria, including human pathogens. Surprisingly, the biodegradable plastic (PBAT/PLA) had a higher diversity and abundance of resistance genes than conventional polyethylene. This challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always safer and raises concerns about antibiotic resistance spreading from farm microplastics.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.