Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses of Two Cadmium Hyper-Enriched Duckweed Strains Reveal Putative Cadmium Tolerance Mechanisms

Not directly relevant to microplastics — this study uses transcriptomics to investigate how duckweed tolerates and accumulates cadmium, exploring potential mechanisms for heavy-metal phytoremediation.

2023 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Nutrient Metabolism Pathways Analysis and Key Candidate Genes Identification Corresponding to Cadmium Stress in Buckwheat through Multiomics Analysis

This study used transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis to investigate how buckwheat responds to cadmium stress at the molecular level, identifying key metabolic pathways affected by the heavy metal. It is not about microplastics and is not relevant to microplastic research.

2023 Genes 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing stress responses in potherb mustard (Brassica juncea var. multiceps) exposed to a synergy of microplastics and cadmium: Insights from physiology, oxidative damage, and metabolomics

Researchers found that microplastics in soil increased the amount of cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, that mustard green plants absorbed, while also reducing crop yields and photosynthesis. Higher concentrations of microplastics made more cadmium available in the soil, leading to greater accumulation of the metal in the plants. This raises food safety concerns because vegetables grown in microplastic-contaminated soil could contain higher levels of toxic metals that are harmful to human health.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Arabidopsis Transcription Factor WRKY45 Confers Cadmium Tolerance via Activating PCS1 and PCS2 Expression

Not relevant to microplastics — this study investigates how the plant transcription factor WRKY45 helps Arabidopsis tolerate cadmium heavy metal stress by activating genes for detoxifying compounds.

2023
Article Tier 2

Physiological and Cellular Ultrastructural Responses of Sesuvium portulacastrum under Cd Stress Grown Hydroponically

Researchers tested how the salt-tolerant plant Sesuvium portulacastrum responds to increasing concentrations of cadmium, a toxic heavy metal. The plant showed strong antioxidant defense mechanisms at lower cadmium levels but experienced significant cellular damage at higher concentrations, including disruption to chloroplasts and mitochondria. The findings suggest this species has moderate tolerance to heavy metal stress, which could make it useful for cleaning up contaminated environments.

2023 Plants 18 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of Micro/Nano-plastics exposure on plants and their toxic mechanisms: A review from multi-omics perspectives.

A multi-omics review of micro/nanoplastic effects on plants found that plastic exposure disrupts gene expression, protein function, and metabolic pathways across multiple plant systems, with potential consequences for crop yield and agricultural food safety.

2024 Journal of hazardous materials
Article Tier 2

Assessing the interactive effects of microplastics and acid rain on cadmium toxicity in rice seedlings: Insights from physiological and transcriptomic analyses

Researchers studied how the combination of microplastics, acid rain, and cadmium affects rice seedling growth. They found that at high cadmium concentrations, the presence of microplastics and acid rain actually reduced cadmium's toxic effects by lowering how much of the metal accumulated in the plants. The study provides nuanced evidence that interactions between multiple environmental pollutants can sometimes produce unexpected outcomes, which matters for understanding food safety in contaminated agricultural areas.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 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

Comparative Transcriptome Combined with Morphophysiological Analyses Revealed Carotenoid Biosynthesis for Differential Chilling Tolerance in Two Contrasting Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Genotypes

This paper is not about microplastics; it uses comparative transcriptomics and physiological analysis to investigate how two rice cultivars differ in their tolerance to cold-stress-induced leaf chlorosis.

2023 Rice 6 citations
Article Tier 2

[Transcriptome Analysis of Plant Growth-promoting Bacteria Alleviating Microplastic and Heavy Metal Combined Pollution Stress in Sorghum].

A transcriptomics study examined how the plant growth-promoting bacterium VY-1 alleviates combined stress from microplastics and heavy metals in sorghum grown in hydroponic conditions. Inoculation with VY-1 improved biomass and reduced heavy metal accumulation in sorghum, with gene expression analysis revealing the underlying protective mechanisms.

2024 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Polylactic acid microplastics inhibit Cd accumulation and growth of Solanum nigrum L.: Insights from microbial communities and metabolomic profiles

Researchers found that polylactic acid microplastics in soil reduced cadmium uptake and inhibited biomass growth in the cadmium hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum, altering soil microbial communities and metabolomic profiles in ways that could impair phytoremediation.

2025 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Integration of Physiological, Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Reveals Molecular Mechanism of Paraisaria dubia Response to Zn2+ Stress

This paper is not about microplastics; it investigates how the entomopathogenic fungus Paraisaria dubia tolerates and removes zinc from contaminated media, relevant to heavy metal bioremediation.

2023 Journal of Fungi 9 citations
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

Effects of Cadmium Stress on Carbon Sequestration and Oxygen Release Characteristics in A Landscaping Hyperaccumulator—Lonicera japonica Thunb.

This study examines how cadmium stress affects the growth, photosynthesis, and carbon sequestration capacity of the landscape plant Lonicera japonica. It is not about microplastics and is not relevant to microplastic research.

2023 Plants 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Phenotypic and transcriptomic shifts in roots and leaves of rice under the joint stress from microplastic and arsenic

This study examined how rice plants respond when exposed to both microplastics and heavy metal cadmium at the same time. Researchers found that the combination caused distinct changes in root and leaf gene expression and growth patterns compared to either pollutant alone. The findings suggest that microplastics may alter how plants take up and respond to heavy metals, potentially affecting crop safety.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Preliminary Analysis of the Salt-Tolerance Mechanisms of Different Varieties of Dandelion (Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.) Under Salt Stress

Despite its title referencing salt tolerance in dandelion varieties, this paper studies how dandelion plants respond to soil salt stress at the molecular and metabolic level — not microplastic pollution. It examines transcriptomic and metabolomic changes under salt conditions and is not relevant to microplastics or human health.

2025 Current Issues in Molecular Biology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing the Selenium-Mediated Regulatory Mechanisms of P. stratiotes in Response to Nanoplastics Stress from Multiple Perspectives of Transcriptomics, Metabolomics, and Plant Physiology

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) seriously damage water plants by disrupting their ability to make food from sunlight and causing harmful stress inside their cells. However, when researchers added selenium (a natural mineral) to the water, it helped protect the plants from plastic damage by boosting their natural defense systems. This research could help us clean up plastic pollution in lakes and rivers, which is important since these water sources can affect human health through drinking water and food chains.

2026 Toxics
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Plant Cell Reports 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on cadmium accumulation in Solanum nigrum L.: A study involving microbial communities and metabolomics profiles

This study found that polyethylene microplastics in soil reduced the ability of a plant known for cleaning up cadmium contamination to absorb the toxic metal. The microplastics changed the soil's microbial community and altered the plant's metabolism in ways that disrupted its natural heavy metal uptake process. This is important because it suggests microplastic pollution in farmland could interfere with natural and engineered soil cleanup strategies for heavy metals.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Euphorbia marginata Alleviate Heavy Metal Ni-Cu Combined Stress by Regulating the Synthesis of Signaling Factors and Flavonoid Organisms

Despite its title referencing heavy metal stress in plants, this paper studies how the ornamental plant Euphorbia marginata responds physiologically and genetically to copper and nickel contamination in soil — not microplastic pollution. It examines antioxidant responses, cell membrane damage, and gene expression related to phytoremediation of heavy metals and is not relevant to microplastics or human health from plastic exposure.

2025 Plants 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics distinctly impact cadmium uptake and toxicity in Arabidopsis thaliana

In a study using the model plant Arabidopsis, polystyrene nanoplastics increased the uptake and accumulation of the toxic heavy metal cadmium in plant roots. The combined stress of nanoplastics and cadmium caused worse oxidative damage and growth problems than either pollutant alone. This is concerning because it means microplastics in agricultural soil could help toxic metals get into crops more easily, potentially increasing human exposure through food.

2024 Environmental Pollution 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic toxicity induces metabolic shifts in Populus × euramericana cv. '74/76' revealed by multi-omics analysis

Researchers used transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling to show that polystyrene nanoplastics accumulate in poplar tree roots, penetrate chloroplasts in leaves causing photosynthesis disruption, and trigger a metabolic shift from normal growth to defensive flavonoid production under severe exposure conditions.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Divergent Responses of Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) Cell Wall to Cd Phytotoxicity Affected by Continuous Nanoplastics Stimulation

Researchers exposed rice plants to nanoplastics and cadmium, revealing a dosage-dependent dual effect: low nanoplastic doses immobilized 72% of cadmium in roots, while high doses disrupted cell wall integrity and increased cadmium translocation to shoots by 34%, worsening toxicity.

2025 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Divergent Responsesof Rice (Oryzasativa L.) Cell Wall to Cd Phytotoxicity Affectedby Continuous Nanoplastics Stimulation

Researchers found that nanoplastics exert a dosage-dependent dual effect on cadmium toxicity in rice roots: low doses helped sequester cadmium in the cell wall, while high doses disrupted cell wall structure and allowed 34% more cadmium to translocate to shoots.

2025 Figshare