Papers

Do Added Microplastics, Native Soil Properties, and Prevailing Climatic Conditions Have Consequences for Carbon and Nitrogen Contents in Soil? A Global Data Synthesis of Pot and Greenhouse Studies

This meta-analysis examined how microplastics affect carbon and nitrogen levels in soil, which are key to soil fertility. The results show that certain types of plastics — especially smaller, fiber-shaped particles — can significantly alter soil chemistry, potentially affecting crop growth and soil health.

Exploring the nano-wonders: unveiling the role of Nanoparticles in enhancing salinity and drought tolerance in plants

This review explores how nanoparticles can help plants survive drought and high-salt conditions by protecting cell membranes, boosting photosynthesis, and strengthening antioxidant defenses. While promising for agriculture, the effects of nanoparticles vary depending on their size, shape, and concentration, and their potential toxicity to plants needs further study.

Microplastics enhance the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in mariculture sediments by enriching host bacteria and promoting horizontal gene transfer

Researchers found that polystyrene and PVC microplastics in marine sediments increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes by 1.4 to 2.8 times compared to sediment without plastics. PVC was particularly harmful because its chemical additives, including heavy metals and bisphenol A, promoted bacteria to share resistance genes more readily. These findings show that microplastic pollution in oceans is directly contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a major public health concern.

Uptake and effect of carboxyl-modified polystyrene microplastics on cotton plants

This study found that polystyrene microplastics can enter cotton plant roots and accumulate over time, causing growth problems and triggering stress responses at the genetic level. While focused on plants rather than human health directly, the findings raise questions about whether microplastics absorbed by crops could eventually make their way into food and textile products.

Microplastics alter cadmium accumulation in different soil-plant systems: Revealing the crucial roles of soil bacteria and metabolism

A study found that microplastics in soil can change how much cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, is absorbed by food crops, with the effects varying depending on soil type and the amount of plastic present. By altering soil chemistry and bacterial communities, microplastics reshape how pollutants move through farmland and into the food we eat.

Life-history stage determines the diet of ectoparasitic mites on their honey bee hosts

Researchers discovered that parasitic Varroa mites switch their diet depending on their life stage, feeding on the fat body of adult honey bees but primarily consuming hemolymph (blood) from bee pupae. While not directly about microplastics, this study matters because understanding threats to bee health, including parasites and environmental pollutants like microplastics, is essential for protecting pollinators that support our food supply.

Effects of pristine microplastics and nanoplastics on soil invertebrates: A systematic review and meta-analysis of available data

About 49% of 1,061 biological endpoints were significantly affected by pristine micro- and nanoplastics across 56 studies on soil invertebrates, with polymers containing chloro and phenyl groups causing the most harm; concentrations above 1 g/kg in soil decreased earthworm growth and survival.

Microplastic and Nanoplastic Interactions with Plant Species: Trends, Meta-Analysis, and Perspectives

This meta-analysis examines how microplastics and nanoplastics interact with plants, finding effects on germination, growth, and nutrient absorption. The findings raise concerns for human health because crops grown in microplastic-contaminated soil may take up these particles, creating another pathway for microplastics to enter our diet.

Transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics interventions prompt crop improvement against metal(loid) toxicity

This review examines how advanced molecular analysis tools -- transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics -- are helping scientists understand how plants respond to toxic metals in contaminated soil. While focused on metal toxicity rather than microplastics directly, these same tools are being used to study how microplastics interact with heavy metals to create combined threats to crop safety and human health.

Current scenario of emerging pollutants in farmlands and water reservoirs: Prospects and challenges

This review looks at how pollutants like microplastics and pharmaceutical residues end up in farmland and water supplies, with global plastic production exceeding 400 million metric tons per year. The authors warn that these contaminants can enter the food chain through soil and water, potentially affecting human health, and call for better monitoring and cleanup strategies.

Discovery and solution for microplastics: New risk carriers in food

This review summarizes the current state of microplastic contamination in food, covering which foods are affected, how to detect microplastics, and how to break them down. Microplastics accumulate through the food chain and have been confirmed in many everyday foods, posing serious health risks. The authors call for standardized detection methods and national policies to monitor and reduce microplastic contamination in the food supply.

Micro/Nanoplastics in plantation agricultural products: behavior process, phytotoxicity under biotic and abiotic stresses, and controlling strategies

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics from sources like plastic mulch and wastewater contaminate agricultural crops, harming plant growth, photosynthesis, and food quality. The findings matter for human health because these plastic particles can accumulate in the fruits and vegetables we eat, carrying toxic chemicals along with them into our diet.

Degradation of biodegradable plastic films in soil: microplastics formation and soil microbial community dynamics

Scientists tracked what happens when biodegradable PBAT plastic films break down in soil over 180 days and found they release microplastics that peaked before declining. Fungi broke the films into smaller pieces while bacteria consumed the fragments, suggesting that even plastics marketed as biodegradable generate microplastics during their breakdown, though soil microbes can eventually help clean them up.

A fishy gut feeling – current knowledge on gut microbiota in teleosts

This review summarizes what scientists know about the community of bacteria living in fish guts and how diet, environmental conditions, and pollutants shape that community. Microplastics and other pollutants can disrupt the gut microbiome in fish, harming their immune function and overall health. Since fish are a major food source for humans, understanding these effects matters for food safety.

Potential translocation process and effects of polystyrene microplastics on strawberry seedlings

Researchers found that tiny polystyrene microplastics (100 and 200 nanometers) can enter strawberry plant roots and travel upward through the plant's internal transport system. The smaller 100-nanometer particles traveled further into the plant than the larger ones, demonstrating that particle size determines how far microplastics spread in crops. This is concerning because it shows microplastics in soil can be taken up by food plants and potentially reach the parts that people eat.

Combined effects of mulch film-derived microplastics and pesticides on soil microbial communities and element cycling

Researchers studied how microplastics from agricultural plastic mulch film interact with commonly used pesticides in cotton field soil. When present together, the pesticides had a stronger impact on soil bacteria than the microplastics alone, and the combination disrupted important nutrient cycling processes for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. This matters because farmland contaminated with both microplastics and pesticides may experience compounding damage to soil health, ultimately affecting food production.

Could soil microplastic pollution exacerbate climate change? A meta-analysis of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming potential

The first meta-analysis linking soil microplastic pollution to greenhouse gas emissions found that microplastics increased overall emissions, with the strongest effect being a 60% increase in methane. Polyethylene caused the highest methane emissions, phenol-formaldehyde had the greatest global warming potential via nitrous oxide, and greenhouse gas emissions rose sharply when soil microplastic content exceeded 0.5%.

Cordyceps militaris solid medium extract alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury via regulating gut microbiota and metabolism

Researchers found that an extract from Cordyceps militaris fungus reduced lung injury in mice by improving gut bacteria balance and correcting metabolic disorders. While not about microplastics, the study is relevant because it demonstrates the gut-lung connection and how gut microbiota health influences inflammatory lung conditions. Since microplastic exposure is known to disrupt gut bacteria, understanding gut-lung pathways could help explain how inhaled or ingested microplastics affect respiratory health.

Composting treatment increases the risk of microplastics pollution in process and compost products

Researchers found that the composting process actually increases microplastic contamination rather than reducing it, breaking larger plastic pieces into smaller, more numerous particles. Even when visible plastics were sorted out before composting, the final compost still contained thousands of microplastic particles per kilogram. Since compost is widely applied to farm fields, this study reveals an overlooked pathway for microplastics to enter agricultural soil and potentially the food supply.

Combined effects of microplastics and flupyradifurone on gut microbiota and oxidative status of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Researchers found that honeybees exposed to both polystyrene microplastics and the pesticide flupyradifurone suffered significantly worse health outcomes than when exposed to either substance alone, including reduced survival and disrupted gut bacteria. The combination depleted beneficial Lactobacillus bacteria in the bees' guts, and supplementing with these bacteria improved survival. While focused on bees, this study demonstrates how microplastics can amplify the toxicity of other environmental chemicals, a principle that likely applies across species.

Polystyrene microplastics reduce honeybee survival by disrupting gut microbiota and metabolism

Honeybees exposed to polystyrene microplastics at environmentally realistic concentrations showed reduced survival rates, damaged gut walls, and disrupted gut bacteria and metabolism. The microplastics accumulated in the bees' guts, causing oxidative stress and shifting the microbial community toward harmful species. Since honeybees are essential pollinators for many food crops, microplastic threats to bee health could have indirect consequences for agriculture and human food security.

Global Responses of Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities to Biodegradable and Nonbiodegradable Microplastics: A Meta-Analysis of Laboratory Studies

This meta-analysis pools data from 72 studies to examine how microplastics change soil enzyme activity, which is important for nutrient cycling in farmland. The findings show that biodegradable microplastics have a stronger effect than conventional ones, and that these changes could alter how nutrients move through soil, potentially affecting the crops we grow and eat.

Research progress on distribution, sources, identification, toxicity, and biodegradation of microplastics in the ocean, freshwater, and soil environment

Current Progress and Open Challenges for Combined Toxic Effects of Manufactured Nano-Sized Objects (MNO’s) on Soil Biota and Microbial Community

This review examines the combined toxic effects of manufactured nanomaterials, including nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, on soil organisms and microbial communities. Researchers found that these materials can disrupt soil nutrient cycling, harm beneficial microbes, and alter plant-microbe interactions in agricultural systems. The paper identifies significant knowledge gaps in understanding how nanomaterial mixtures behave in complex soil environments.