Papers

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Article Tier 2

Image 2_Synthetic microbiota for microplastic degradation modulates rhizosphere fungal diversity and metabolic function in highland barley.tif

Researchers investigated the effects of polystyrene microplastics and a synthetic microbiota consortium (MPDSM) designed for plastic degradation on rhizosphere fungal communities and grain nutritional quality in highland barley. The MPDSM significantly enhanced microplastic degradation and modulated rhizosphere fungal diversity and metabolic function compared to microplastic-only treatments.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Image 3_Synthetic microbiota for microplastic degradation modulates rhizosphere fungal diversity and metabolic function in highland barley.tif

Researchers examined the individual and combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and a synthetic microbiota consortium (MPDSM) designed for plastic degradation on rhizosphere fungal diversity and grain nutritional quality in highland barley. The MPDSM achieved up to 19.9% weight loss in large microplastic particles and modulated rhizosphere fungal communities, suggesting microbial consortia can partially mitigate crop impacts from microplastic contamination.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Synthetic microbiota for microplastic degradation modulates rhizosphere fungal diversity and metabolic function in highland barley

Researchers examined how a synthetic microbiota consortium (MPDSM) designed for microplastic degradation affects rhizosphere fungal diversity and nutritional quality in highland barley grown in polystyrene-contaminated soil. The MPDSM achieved up to 19.9% weight loss in large microplastic particles and significantly modulated rhizosphere fungal metabolic function, suggesting microbiome-based remediation can partly offset crop quality impacts.

2025 Frontiers in Microbiology
Article Tier 2

Image 1_Synthetic microbiota for microplastic degradation modulates rhizosphere fungal diversity and metabolic function in highland barley.tif

Researchers examined how polystyrene microplastics and a microplastic-degrading synthetic microbiota consortium (MPDSM) affect highland barley grain nutrition and rhizosphere fungal communities, finding the MPDSM achieved up to 19.9% plastic weight reduction. The study demonstrates that microbiome-based remediation can mitigate some of the negative effects of microplastic contamination on crop rhizosphere ecology.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene microplastics on the agronomic traits and rhizosphere soil microbial community of highland barley

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics of different sizes and concentrations affect highland barley growth and the microbial communities in surrounding soil. They found that smaller particles reduced grain weight while larger particles decreased spike dimensions, and all microplastic treatments significantly lowered soil bacterial diversity. The study also showed that adding degrading bacteria helped restore microbial community structure closer to normal conditions.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Alteration of the Rhizosphere Microbiota and Growth Performance of Barley Infected with Fusarium graminearum and Screening of an Antagonistic Bacterial Strain (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens)

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics alter the rhizosphere microbiome and growth performance of barley infected with a root pathogen, finding that MP contamination shifted microbial community composition and exacerbated disease symptoms in infected plants.

2025 Microorganisms
Article Tier 2

Reprogramming of microbial community in barley root endosphere and rhizosphere soil by polystyrene plastics with different particle sizes

Barley plants grown in polystyrene microplastic- and nanoplastic-contaminated soil showed altered microbial communities in both the root endosphere and rhizosphere, suggesting plastic pollution can reshape plant-associated microbiomes. These shifts could have downstream consequences for plant health and soil nutrient cycling.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic particles alter wheat rhizosphere soil microbial community composition and function

Researchers found that microplastic particles altered wheat rhizosphere soil microbial community composition and function, with different polymer types inducing distinct shifts in bacterial diversity and nutrient cycling processes.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 139 citations
Article Tier 2

Rhizosphere microbial activities in response to combined effects of drought and microplastic

Researchers studied how combined drought stress and microplastic contamination affect rhizosphere microbial activities, finding that microplastics exacerbated drought-induced suppression of soil enzyme activities and altered microbial community structure around plant roots.

2024
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

Mitigating the detrimental impacts of low- and high-density polyethylene microplastics using a novel microbial consortium on a soil-plant system: Insights and interactions

Researchers tested a novel microbial consortium containing bacterial and fungal strains to mitigate the harmful effects of polyethylene microplastics on soil and sunflower growth. The study found that microplastics altered soil pH, electrical conductivity, and organic carbon levels, but the microbial consortium treatment helped counteract some of these detrimental effects on the soil-plant system.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Interference of microplastics on autotrophic microbiome in paddy soils: Shifts in carbon fixation rate, structure, abundance, co-occurrence, and assembly process

Researchers found that both conventional polystyrene and biodegradable PHBV microplastics significantly reduced carbon fixation rates in paddy soil by disrupting autotrophic microbial communities. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils may impair natural carbon sequestration processes, with polystyrene having a stronger inhibitory effect than biodegradable alternatives in bulk soil.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of degradable film fragments and micro/nanoplastics on growth of wheat seedling and rhizosphere microbes

Researchers studied the combined effects of degradable mulching film fragments and polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics on wheat seedling growth and soil microbes. They found that degradable film fragments alone reduced plant growth, but adding nanoplastics partially counteracted harmful fungal communities in the soil. The findings highlight that interactions between multiple types of plastic particles in farmland can produce complex and sometimes unexpected effects on crop health.

2021 Environmental Pollution 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Degradation of polypropylene and polystyrene micro plastics using novel microbial consortia

Researchers tested two naturally occurring microbial mixtures and found that a fungal-bacterial consortium could break down roughly 30% of polypropylene and 40% of polystyrene microplastics over 27 months, with bacteria and fungi working together through enzymatic action and surface oxidation. While the timescales and degradation rates are still far from a practical solution, the findings suggest that targeting the right combination of microbes — matched to the specific plastic type — could be the key to future biological plastic cleanup strategies.

2026 Journal of Integrated Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on the microbial community structure of maize rhizosphere soil

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics from agricultural films affect the microbial communities in crop root zones (rhizosphere), finding shifts in bacterial diversity and function. Disrupting soil microbiomes through microplastic contamination could have downstream effects on soil fertility and crop health.

2021 中国生态农业学报 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of soil microplastic contamination on maize (Zea mays) development and microbial dynamics

Researchers grew maize (corn) in soil contaminated with varying amounts of microplastics and found that higher microplastic levels disrupted soil bacteria and fungi, caused leaf damage like yellowing and tissue death, and led to elevated heavy metals in plant tissue above safe limits. The results point to serious risks microplastics pose to crop health, soil ecosystems, and food safety.

2024 Discover Environment 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces

Researchers investigated the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces, examining how microbial communities interact with plastic polymers in environmental settings. The study characterized the 'plastisphere' — the community of microorganisms that colonize microplastic surfaces — and assessed the extent to which microbial activity contributes to plastic degradation in natural environments.

2024
Article Tier 2

Impact of Coexistence of Microplastics and Biochar on the Abundance and Structure of Soil Fungal Communities

Researchers investigated the effects of polypropylene, polyethylene, and PVC microplastics — alone and in combination with biochar — on soil fungal community structure, diversity, and functional prediction in agricultural soil. Microplastics increased overall fungal abundance but reduced diversity indices, with dominant taxa including Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierella, Aspergillus, and Fusarium, and coexistence with biochar amplifying these effects beyond microplastics alone.

2023 Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on the soil-plant system: A perspective on rhizosphere microbial community and soil element cycling

This study provides supporting dataset for a review examining how microplastics affect soil-plant systems, with a focus on rhizosphere microbial community composition and element cycling processes in contaminated soils.

2024 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics reduces bacterial and fungal biomass in microfabricated soil models

Researchers used micro-engineered soil models to study how polystyrene nanoplastics affect soil bacteria and fungi. They found that nanoplastic exposure reduced both bacterial and fungal biomass, with bacteria showing a linear dose-dependent decline and fungi being affected even at the lowest concentrations. The study suggests that nanoplastic pollution in soil may suppress the microbial communities essential for healthy soil function.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

The mycorrhizal symbiosis: research frontiers in genomics, ecology, and agricultural application

This review covers the latest advances in understanding mycorrhizal fungi, which form partnerships with plant roots to help them absorb nutrients and resist stress. While not directly about microplastics, mycorrhizal networks play a critical role in soil health, and research shows that microplastic contamination in soil can disrupt these beneficial fungal partnerships. Healthy mycorrhizal networks may also help buffer plants against some negative effects of soil pollutants, including microplastics.

2024 New Phytologist 187 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on the plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal symbiotic system: type, size, and concentration

This review examines how different types, sizes, and concentrations of microplastics affect the symbiotic relationship between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil. The study found that low microplastic concentrations may stimulate fungal colonization, while higher levels generally inhibit it, and that biodegradable microplastics and nanoplastics tend to have stronger effects on the plant-fungal system than conventional microplastics.

2026 World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene microplastics on the growth and metabolism of highland barley seedlings based on LC-MS

Researchers exposed highland barley seedlings to different concentrations of polystyrene microplastics and found that low to medium levels actually increased plant growth, while high levels significantly reduced it. The microplastics triggered oxidative stress and disrupted key metabolic pathways involved in flavonoid production, energy metabolism, and fatty acid production. These changes to crop metabolism could affect the nutritional quality and safety of food crops grown in microplastic-contaminated soil.

2024 Frontiers in Plant Science 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Biodegradable Microplastics on Soil andLettuce Health: Rhizosphere Microbiome and Metabolome Responses

Two biodegradable microplastics (PBAT and PHB) were applied to soil and lettuce was grown to assess effects on rhizosphere microbiome composition and plant metabolome, finding that both biodegradable MPs altered soil microbial communities and plant metabolic responses differently.

2025 Figshare