Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance maize cadmium resistance and reduce translocation: Dependence on microplastics concentration

Researchers investigated how beneficial soil fungi called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can help maize plants resist cadmium toxicity in soils contaminated with both microplastics and heavy metals. They found that high concentrations of polyethylene microplastics worsened cadmium toxicity, but inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi significantly improved plant growth, nutrient uptake, and photosynthesis. The study suggests that these fungi could serve as a biological tool for managing crop health in soils with combined microplastic and heavy metal contamination.

2026
Article Tier 2

Plant growth-promoting bacteria improve the Cd phytoremediation efficiency of soils contaminated with PE–Cd complex pollution by influencing the rhizosphere microbiome of sorghum

Researchers found that adding beneficial bacteria to soil contaminated with both polyethylene microplastics and the toxic metal cadmium helped sorghum plants grow larger and absorb more cadmium from the soil, improving cleanup potential. This approach matters for food safety because using plants and bacteria to remove combined microplastic-heavy metal pollution from farmland could reduce the amount of these contaminants that enter the food supply.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Beneficial microbial consortia effectively alleviated plant stress caused by the synergistic toxicity of microplastics and cadmium

Researchers found that combined pollution from microplastics (PVC) and the heavy metal cadmium creates a toxic effect in soil that is worse than either pollutant alone. However, applying beneficial bacteria to contaminated soil helped plants grow better and restored soil nutrients. These findings suggest that probiotic-like bacteria could help repair farmland damaged by microplastic and heavy metal pollution.

2025 Industrial Crops and Products 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum

Researchers found that beneficial soil bacteria (PGPR) can help plants cope with the combined stress of polypropylene microplastics and the toxic heavy metal cadmium. The bacteria improved plant growth by 8-42% under contaminated conditions by reshaping the microbial community around plant roots. This study offers a potential strategy for maintaining crop productivity in farmland contaminated with both microplastics and heavy metals.

2025 Frontiers in Microbiology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics and cadmium on plant growth and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in an agricultural soil

Researchers studied how polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics interact with cadmium contamination to affect maize growth and beneficial soil fungi in agricultural soil. While polyethylene showed minimal direct plant toxicity, high doses of polylactic acid significantly reduced maize biomass, and both plastic types altered the communities of root-associated fungi. The study suggests that co-contamination of microplastics and heavy metals in farmland can jointly disrupt plant health and soil ecosystems.

2020 Chemosphere 643 citations
Article Tier 2

Regulation of the Rhizosphere Microenvironment by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi to Mitigate the Effects of Cadmium Contamination on Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

Researchers studied how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi help perennial ryegrass cope with cadmium-contaminated soil by reshaping the microbial community around the plant roots. They found that the fungi increased beneficial bacteria and reduced harmful ones, improving the plant's ability to tolerate heavy metal stress. While focused on cadmium rather than microplastics, the study demonstrates how soil microorganisms can help plants resist environmental contaminants.

2024 Microorganisms 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Screening of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria helps alleviate the joint toxicity of PVC+Cd pollution in sorghum plants

Researchers isolated soil bacteria that promote plant growth and showed they can partially offset the combined toxicity of PVC microplastics and cadmium in sorghum, restoring soil nutrient availability and shifting rhizosphere bacterial communities in ways that support nitrogen and phosphorus cycling.

2024 Environmental Pollution 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics and cadmium co-contamination on the soybean-soil system: Integrated metabolic and rhizosphere microbial mechanisms

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics and cadmium interact in soybean-soil systems and found that specific microplastic concentrations enhanced cadmium accumulation in roots under moderate contamination. Higher microplastic levels reduced beneficial soil bacteria like Sphingomonas and Bradyrhizobium and suppressed nitrogen-cycling functions. The study demonstrates that microplastics fundamentally alter heavy metal behavior through interconnected plant-metabolite-microbe interactions in agricultural soils.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Kaolinite reduced Cd accumulation in peanut and remediate soil contaminated with both microplastics and cadmium

Kaolinite amendments (at 1% and 2%) were found to reduce cadmium accumulation in peanuts and immobilize both cadmium and microplastics in contaminated soil, suggesting kaolinite as a potential soil amendment for remediating co-contamination by MPs and heavy metals.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Plant growth-promoting bacteria modulate gene expression and induce antioxidant tolerance to alleviate synergistic toxicity from combined microplastic and Cd pollution in sorghum

Scientists found that a beneficial soil bacterium (Bacillus sp. SL-413) can help protect sorghum plants from the combined toxic effects of microplastics and cadmium, a heavy metal. The bacterium boosted plant growth, reduced harmful reactive oxygen species by up to 27%, and reactivated genes that the pollution had shut down. This research points to a nature-based solution for helping food crops survive in microplastic-contaminated soil.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Inhibition of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Growth, Development, and Promotion of Root Nodulation Including Plant Nitrogen Uptake Triggered by Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics

Researchers investigated the impact of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics at four dosages (0.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%, and 3.5%) on the growth, development, root nodulation, and nitrogen uptake of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) plants. They found that PVC microplastics inhibited plant growth and development while paradoxically promoting root nodulation, suggesting complex soil-plant-microbiome interactions that could have implications for nitrogen cycling and food security in contaminated agricultural soils.

2025 ACS Omega
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on the soil-plant system: Phytotoxicity, Cd accumulation and microbial activity

Researchers tested how different microplastic types combined with cadmium affect plant growth and soil health. Aged and biodegradable microplastics increased cadmium uptake in mustard greens more than fresh conventional plastics did. The study also found that microplastics altered soil microbial activity, suggesting that plastic pollution in farmland could change how plants absorb toxic metals from contaminated soil.

2023 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics modify plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi systems in a Pb-Zn-contaminated soil

Researchers examined how six types of microplastics affect sweet sorghum growth and soil fungal communities in soil contaminated with lead and zinc. They found that microplastics generally did not inhibit plant growth and in some cases promoted it, but they increased the uptake of heavy metals into plant shoots. The study suggests that microplastics may worsen the risks of heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils by enhancing metal accumulation in crops.

2025 Applied Soil Ecology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

[Plant Growth-promoting Bacteria Alleviate the Toxic Effects of Soil Microplastics and Heavy Metal Complex Pollution in Hybrid pennisetum].

Researchers investigated whether plant growth-promoting bacteria (Enterobacter and Bacillus spp.) could alleviate combined polypropylene microplastic and cadmium stress on Hybrid pennisetum in pot experiments, finding that inoculation improved plant growth and soil nutrient availability while shifting rhizosphere bacterial communities toward more beneficial compositions.

2025 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Plant community responses to polypropylene microplastic and cadmium co-exposure: Implications for mycorrhizal strategies in a coastal wetland

Researchers conducted a mesocosm experiment to assess how polypropylene microplastics and cadmium interact in their effects on coastal wetland plant communities. They found that the combination of microplastics and heavy metals altered soil properties, plant community composition, and root traits in species-specific ways. The study suggests that mycorrhizal strategies play a role in how different plant species respond to this combined contamination.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Mitigating microplastic stress on peanuts: The role of biochar-based synthetic community in the preservation of soil physicochemical properties and microbial diversity

Researchers found that tire-derived microplastics in soil harmed peanut plant growth and disrupted soil bacteria, but adding biochar with a specially designed bacterial community helped counteract the damage. The biochar treatment restored soil health, improved microbial diversity, and boosted peanut growth even in microplastic-contaminated soil. This approach could help protect food crops from the harmful effects of microplastic pollution in agricultural land.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyvinyl chloride and polybutylene adipate microplastics affect peanut and rhizobium symbiosis by interfering with multiple metabolic pathways

Researchers found that both PVC and biodegradable PBAT microplastics significantly disrupted the symbiotic relationship between peanut plants and nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria. The microplastics reduced nodule formation by 33 to 100 percent and altered metabolic pathways involved in the symbiosis. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils could impair the natural nitrogen fixation process that legume crops depend on for healthy growth.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene Microplastics Inhibit Peanut Nodulation via Metabolic and Transcriptional Pathways

Scientists found that tiny plastic pieces from agricultural plastic films prevent peanut plants from forming healthy partnerships with beneficial soil bacteria that help them grow. These microplastics disrupt the plant's natural processes and block the formation of root nodules, which are essential for peanuts to get nitrogen from soil bacteria. This matters because it shows how plastic pollution in farmland could reduce crop yields and food production, potentially affecting our food supply.

2026 Plants
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of heavy metals and microplastics on maize grown in acid and alkaline soils inoculated with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria

Researchers grew maize in soils contaminated with combinations of biodegradable (PLA) and conventional (LDPE) microplastics and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni) in both acid and alkaline soils, with and without plant growth-promoting bacteria. The combined microplastic-heavy metal contamination reduced growth more than either stressor alone, while bacterial inoculants partially mitigated the damage in alkaline soils.

2025 PLoS ONE
Article Tier 2

Accelerating phytoremediation of degraded agricultural soils utilizing rhizobacteria and endophytes: a review

This review examines how beneficial soil bacteria and fungi can help plants clean up contaminated agricultural soils, including those polluted by plastic mulch residues, pesticides, and heavy metals. Microbial-assisted phytoremediation is presented as a promising low-cost approach for restoring degraded farmland.

2019 Environmental Reviews 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Mitigation of microplastic toxicity in soybean by synthetic bacterial community and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi interaction: Altering carbohydrate metabolism, hormonal transduction, and genes associated with lipid and protein metabolism

Researchers found that inoculating soybean plants with a combination of mycorrhizal fungi and beneficial bacteria helped protect them from microplastic-induced stress, improving biomass, seed quality, antioxidant defenses, and hormone balance. The study suggests that soil microbe communities could be harnessed as a sustainable strategy to help crops cope with growing microplastic contamination in agricultural soils.

2024 Plant Stress 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of combined microplastic and cadmium pollution on sorghum growth, Cd accumulation, and rhizosphere microbial functions

Researchers examined how different types and sizes of microplastics interact with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, to affect sorghum growth and soil microbes. They found that the combined pollution generally increased plant stress and cadmium uptake, with effects varying by plastic type, particle size, and concentration. The study also revealed that the pollution mixture significantly altered soil bacterial communities and key metabolic pathways involved in nutrient cycling.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Regulatory Mechanisms of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Alleviating Microplastic and Heavy Metal Combined Pollution: Insights from Plant Growth and Metagenomic Analysis

Researchers used metagenomic sequencing to investigate how plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) mitigate the combined toxicity of microplastics and heavy metals on plant growth. PGPB inoculation restored rhizosphere microbial function and reduced plant stress, revealing microbiome-mediated mechanisms for alleviating mixed pollutant toxicity.

2025 Agronomy