Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Role of Trehalose in Response to Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastics Treatment in Foxtail Millet ( Setaria italica ) Seedlings

This transcriptome study of foxtail millet seedlings exposed to PET nanoplastics found that trehalose metabolism played a protective role — upregulating trehalose synthesis genes reduced reactive oxygen species accumulation — offering a potential genetic target for developing nanoplastic-tolerant crops.

2025 Food Science & Nutrition 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Rhizosphere nutrient dynamics and physiological responses of Oryza sativa L. under polyethylene terephthalate microplastic stress

Researchers exposed rice (Oryza sativa) to PET microplastics and found that the particles were absorbed by roots and translocated to aerial tissues, significantly inhibiting chlorophyll production, inducing oxidative stress (with malondialdehyde increasing by 175% at higher doses), and disrupting nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus cycling genes in the rhizosphere.

2025 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
Article Tier 2

Effect of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics on radish and carrot growth, nutrient uptake, and physiological stress responses

Researchers exposed radish and carrot seedlings to PET microplastics (0.1 g/L) for one week and measured growth, nutrient uptake, and stress markers. While plant biomass was unaffected, chlorophyll levels dropped and oxidative stress indicators rose significantly, showing physiological harm even without visible growth effects.

2025 Applied Biological Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Impact of nanoplastics uptake on modulation of plant metabolism and stress responses: a multi-omics perspective on remediation and tolerance mechanisms

Researchers reviewed how nanoplastics accumulate in plant tissues and disrupt metabolism, finding that these particles impair nutrient uptake, trigger reactive oxygen species overproduction, and alter gene and protein expression, while multi-omics approaches are revealing the molecular stress-response networks that plants use to tolerate or remediate nanoplastic contamination.

2026 Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Toxic effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on plants: A global meta-analysis

This meta-analysis of 101 studies found that micro- and nanoplastics negatively affect plant physiology, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) showing the strongest impact on fresh weight, chlorophyll, and reactive oxygen species. Microplastics inhibited most growth and photosynthetic indicators more strongly than nanoplastics, and exposure consistently triggered increased biochemical stress enzyme activity.

2023 Environmental Pollution 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Transcriptomic and physiological effects of polyethylene microplastics on Zea mays seedlings and their role as a vector for organic pollutants

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics cause transcriptomic and physiological changes in corn seedlings, altering gene expression related to stress responses and growth, while also serving as vectors that increase the bioavailability of organic pollutants to plant roots.

2023 Chemosphere 39 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Nano- and microplastics commonly cause adverse impacts on plants at environmentally relevant levels: A systematic review

Systematic review of 78 studies found that nano- and microplastics commonly cause adverse effects on plants even at environmentally relevant concentrations, with germination and root growth more strongly affected than shoot growth during early development. Chlorophyll levels were consistently reduced while stress indicators (ROS) and antioxidant enzymes were consistently upregulated across species.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Physiological Toxicity and Antioxidant Mechanism of Photoaging Microplastics on Pisum sativum L. Seedlings

Researchers tested the toxicity of pristine and photoaged microplastics made of four different polymers (PS, PA, PE, PET) on pea seedlings. The study found that photoaged microplastics caused more harm to root growth than pristine ones, generated reactive oxygen species that worsened oxidative stress, and disrupted nutrient transport in plant tissues. These findings suggest that environmental weathering of microplastics increases their toxicity to plants through enhanced oxidative damage.

2023 Toxics 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of polypropylene microplastics on seed germination and nutrient uptake of tomato and cherry tomato plants

Researchers tested the effects of polypropylene microplastics on tomato and cherry tomato seed growth in lab conditions. While microplastics did not significantly affect germination, they did alter how plants absorbed certain nutrients like potassium and calcium. This suggests that microplastic-contaminated soil could subtly change the nutritional quality of food crops, even if the plants appear to grow normally.

2023 Chemosphere 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro (nano) plastics uptake, toxicity and detoxification in plants: Challenges and prospects

This review examines how micro and nanoplastics are taken up by plants, covering their toxic effects on growth and gene expression as well as potential detoxification strategies. Smaller nanoplastics can penetrate plant cell walls and accumulate in tissues, causing oxidative stress and genetic damage. The findings are important for human health because contaminated crops could transfer microplastics directly into the food supply.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro and nanoplastics pollution: Sources, distribution, uptake in plants, toxicological effects, and innovative remediation strategies for environmental sustainability

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics enter plants through roots, disrupt growth and photosynthesis, and cause oxidative stress that reduces crop yields. Because these plastic particles can move through plant tissues and into edible parts, they represent a potential pathway for microplastics to enter the human food supply.

2024 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption, uptake and toxicity of micro- and nanoplastics: Effects on terrestrial plants and aquatic macrophytes

This review summarizes research on how micro- and nanoplastics interact with terrestrial plants and aquatic macrophytes, finding that many species can absorb or take up plastic particles. Both short-term and long-term plastic exposure triggered stress responses in plants, and since plants are at the base of food chains and a major part of the human diet, there is concern about plastics moving up through the food web. The findings suggest that plastic pollution could potentially affect plant productivity and broader ecosystem function.

2021 Environmental Pollution 218 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic understanding on the uptake of micro-nano plastics by plants and its phytoremediation.

This review summarized the mechanisms by which micro-nano plastics are taken up by plants through roots and leaves, and evaluated the potential for phytoremediation as a strategy to reduce plastic contamination in soil, identifying key plant species and genetic factors that influence uptake.

2024 Environmental science and pollution research international
Article Tier 2

Microplastics change the leaching of nitrogen and potassium in Mollisols

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics at varying concentrations and sizes altered the leaching of nitrogen and potassium in agricultural Mollisols, with effects depending on microplastic size and concentration thresholds, raising concerns about nutrient cycling disruption in plastic-contaminated farmland soils.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as emerging stressors in plants: biochemical and metabolic responses

This review examines how microplastics act as environmental stressors in plants, disrupting biochemical and metabolic processes including photosynthesis, antioxidant defenses, and nutrient uptake, with effects varying by polymer type, particle size, and concentration.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on vascular plants: A cellular metabolomic and transcriptomic review

This review summarizes how microplastics and nanoplastics affect plant health at the cellular and genetic level, disrupting metabolism, nutrient uptake, and growth in vascular plants. Since contaminated crops are a pathway for microplastics to enter the human diet, understanding how plants absorb and respond to these particles is important for food safety.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Plants oxidative response to nanoplastic

This review summarized how plants respond to nanoplastic exposure through oxidative stress mechanisms, covering effects on seed germination, root growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant enzyme activity. Nanoplastics posed greater risks than larger microplastics due to cellular uptake and interference with plant biochemical processes.

2022 Frontiers in Plant Science 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights into the size-dependent bioaccumulation and phytotoxicity of polyethylene microplastics in tomato seedlings

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics of different sizes affect tomato seedlings and found that the smallest particles (1-50 micrometers) caused the most severe damage, reducing shoot weight by 42.3% and root length by 55.1%. The study revealed that microplastic uptake and toxicity are strongly size-dependent, with smaller particles more easily absorbed and translocated through plant tissues, triggering significant oxidative stress.

2026 Frontiers in Plant Science
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Alter Growth and Reproduction Strategy of Scirpus mariqueter by Modifying Soil Nutrient Availability

Researchers exposed the coastal wetland plant Scirpus mariqueter to four microplastic types (PP, PE, PS, PET) at three concentrations and found microplastics altered plant biomass, vegetative traits, and reproductive allocation, with PET and PS causing the strongest effects by disrupting soil nutrient availability.

2025 Diversity
Article Tier 2

Molecular mechanisms underlying microplastics-induced inhibition of lateral root development in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Researchers investigated how PET microplastics affect tomato seedling root development and found that exposure significantly inhibited lateral root growth, reduced chlorophyll content, and impaired photosynthesis. The study revealed that microplastics triggered oxidative stress in root tips and disrupted auxin and abscisic acid hormone signaling pathways, suggesting these molecular mechanisms underlie the observed phytotoxicity.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic/nanoplastic toxicity in plants: an imminent concern

This review examines the growing body of research on how microplastics and nanoplastics affect terrestrial plants, from root uptake to changes in growth and gene expression. Researchers found that these particles can alter plant physiology and biochemistry at varying degrees depending on particle size and concentration. The study calls for more research on how plastic contamination in soil may ultimately affect food crop quality and human health through the food chain.

2022 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 182 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on the biochemistry of plant

This review synthesizes research on the pathways by which microplastics and nanoplastics are taken up and translocated in plant tissues, the biochemical effects on plant development and nutritional quality, and the detection techniques used to study plant-microplastic interactions. The authors identify major knowledge gaps in understanding soil-borne microplastic behavior and its ecological consequences for agricultural systems.

2024 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Foliar uptake and leaf-to-root translocation of nanoplastics with different coating charge in maize plants

Researchers showed that nanoplastics can enter maize plants not just through roots but also through leaves, and then travel down to the roots through the plant's internal transport system. Positively charged nanoplastics stuck to leaf surfaces more readily but also caused more damage to photosynthesis and triggered stronger stress responses in the plants. This finding is important because it reveals an additional pathway for nanoplastic contamination of food crops through airborne particles landing on leaves.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 362 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the possible cellular responses in plants under micro(nano)-plastic (MNPs): Balancing the structural harmony with functions.

This review summarizes current understanding of how micro- and nano-plastics affect plant physiology, covering uptake pathways, effects on cell walls and chloroplasts, and responses to oxidative stress. The findings highlight that plants are exposed to and affected by microplastics through both soil and aerial routes.

2024 The Science of the total environment