Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Freeze–Thaw Cycles Accelerate Plastic Pollution Invasion in Agriculture: Trojan Horse Effect of Microplastic–Plasticizer Contamination Revealed in Rye via Computational Chemistry and Multiomics

Researchers found that climate change-related freeze-thaw cycles significantly worsen the combined toxicity of the plasticizer DEP and microplastics in rye plants. Freeze-thaw conditions increased microplastic uptake into plants by altering particle surface charge, while DEP bound to key plant proteins and inhibited photosynthesis. The study reveals that microplastics simultaneously acted as carriers for the plasticizer while reshaping root microbiomes to favor pollutant-degrading bacteria.

2025 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular Trojan Effect of Microplastic Diethyl Phthalate Drives Multiscale Stress Vortex through Interfacial Engineering in Cold Agroecosystems during Freeze–Thaw Cycles

In a 120-day full-lifecycle soil cultivation experiment, researchers combined microplastic diethyl phthalate with freeze-thaw cycles to simulate cold agroecosystem conditions, and used molecular dynamics and multi-omics to characterize the resulting plant and soil stress. The plastic additive caused compounding oxidative and hormonal stress in plants that was amplified under freeze-thaw conditions, revealing a novel "Trojan effect" in cold-climate agricultural soils.

2025 ACS Nano
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics and Tributyl Phosphate to Rye under Freeze–Thaw Cycles: Implications for Crop Safety and Mechanistic Insights from Transcriptome and Root Microbiome

Researchers exposed rye to combined polystyrene nanoplastics and the plasticizer tributyl phosphate under simulated freeze-thaw cycles, finding that cold cycling intensifies oxidative stress and photosynthesis suppression by promoting physicochemical complex formation between pollutants, restructuring root endophytic microbiomes, and activating jasmonic acid and abscisic acid defense signaling pathways.

2026 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Carrier effects of microplastics in a hydroponic system: Amplifying diethyl phthalate toxicity and endophytic dysbiosis in Rye (Secale cereale L.) with implications for aquatic ecosystems

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics and diethyl phthalate (a common plasticizer) interact synergistically to cause severe toxicity in hydroponically grown rye, far exceeding the damage from either pollutant alone. The study revealed a bidirectional mechanism where microplastics adsorb the plasticizer while the plasticizer enhances microplastic uptake by roots, leading to photosynthetic collapse and disrupted endophytic microbial communities.

2026 Aquatic Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Dynamics of accumulation and multilevel biological effects of various alkyl chain phthalates and microplastics in rye: New insights into individual, physiological, and molecular perspectives

Researchers studied the combined toxicity of three phthalate esters with different alkyl chain lengths and polystyrene microplastics on rye plants, finding that MP presence amplified the phytotoxicity of longer-chain phthalates. The results demonstrate that microplastics can act as carriers that enhance the uptake and toxicity of co-occurring chemical contaminants in crops.

2025 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
Article Tier 2

Metabolomic insights into the synergistic effects of nanoplastics and freeze-thaw cycles on Secale cereale L. seedling physiology

Researchers exposed rye seedlings simultaneously to polystyrene nanoplastics and simulated freeze-thaw cycles, finding that the combination amplified oxidative stress, inhibited photosynthesis, and disrupted core metabolic pathways — including the TCA cycle and lipid metabolism — more severely than either stressor alone.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing the bioavailability and phytotoxicity of different particle size microplastics on diethyl phthalate (DEP) in rye (Secale cereale L.)

Researchers studied how microplastics of different sizes interact with a common plasticizer chemical (DEP) in rye plants. Smaller nanoplastics were able to enter and move through the plant, disrupting leaf cells, while the plasticizer chemical increased the plant's uptake of nanoplastics. This suggests that microplastics and the chemicals they carry can work together to contaminate food crops, with smaller particles posing the greatest risk.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity orchestrated by alkyl chain length of plasticizers and exposure time: Transfer mechanisms of microplastic-plasticizer co-contamination across the full life cycle of rye

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics combined with phthalate plasticizers of different chain lengths affect rye plants through both short-term and long-term experiments. Short-chain phthalates caused the strongest toxicity in hydroponic conditions, while long-chain DEHP combined with microplastics produced the greatest long-term damage, reducing grain weight by 38% and causing microplastic accumulation in seeds.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The freeze-thaw cycle exacerbates the ecotoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to Secale cereale L. seedlings

Researchers exposed rye seedlings to polystyrene nanoplastics followed by repeated freeze-thaw cycles (simulating cold climate conditions), finding that temperature cycling significantly increased nanoplastic accumulation within plant tissues, damaged chloroplasts, inhibited photosynthesis, and amplified oxidative stress beyond the effects of nanoplastics or freeze-thaw stress alone.

2024 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Transcriptome mechanisms of dandelion under stress of polystyrene and dibutyl phthalate and quantitative tracing of nanoplastics

Researchers traced how polystyrene nanoplastics move through dandelion roots via apoplastic pathways and the xylem, finding that co-exposure with the plasticizer dibutyl phthalate reduces particle accumulation but increases translocation to shoots, while transcriptomics revealed disruption of photosynthesis and hormone signaling pathways.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated multi-omics reveals rye seedling responses to nanoplastic and freeze-thaw stress

Researchers used an integrated multi-omics approach to study how rye seedlings respond to the combined stress of polystyrene nanoplastics and freeze-thaw cycles. The study found that the combination produced the strongest physiological stress responses, including elevated oxidative damage markers and significant shifts in root microbial communities, with transcriptomic analysis revealing over 6,000 differentially expressed genes related to oxidative stress and energy metabolism.

2026 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastic residues from polyurethane films on crop growth: Unraveling insights through transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis

Residual plastic films from coated fertilizers harmed wheat growth by disrupting energy metabolism in roots, with one type reducing plant height by nearly 25%. However, some bio-based polyester films triggered plant defense responses that offset the damage, suggesting that switching to certain biodegradable alternatives could reduce the microplastic-related risks to crop production and food safety.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Vulnerability of Brassica oleracea L. (cabbage) grown in microplastic-contaminated soil to extreme climatic events associated with freeze-thaw

Researchers grew cabbage seedlings in soils with 0–10% microplastic contamination, then subjected them to freeze-thaw events at -2.5°C and -3.5°C to simulate climate extremes. Although MPs did not significantly change baseline growth, they altered physiological responses to freezing, suggesting that soil microplastic pollution can modify plant vulnerability to climate-driven temperature stress.

2025 Environmental and Experimental Botany 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Freeze-thaw alternations accelerate plasticizers release and pose a risk for exposed organisms

Researchers investigated how freeze-thaw cycles in agricultural soils of Liaoning, China accelerate the release of phthalate ester (PAE) plasticizers from plastic mulch film residues and microplastics. They found that freeze-thaw alternations significantly increased PAE leaching and that bioaccumulation in exposed organisms poses a potential ecotoxicological risk in cold agricultural regions.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 19 citations
Article Tier 2

The trojan horse in agricultural water: How microbe-mediated interactions of nanoplastics and flame retardants drive multiscale toxicity and seed transmission in rye

Researchers investigated how nanoplastics and flame retardants interact when co-transported through agricultural irrigation water, using rye as a model crop. The study found that nanoplastics formed stable complexes with flame retardants via van der Waals forces, which accumulated in roots, translocated to seeds, caused severe oxidative damage, and reduced photosynthesis by nearly 65% through synergistic toxic effects.

2026 Water Research
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

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

Influence of polyethylene microplastics on Brassica rapa: Toxicity mechanism investigation

Researchers exposed the fast-growing plant Brassica rapa (related to turnip and cabbage) to polyethylene microplastics that had been degraded by sunlight, finding that the plastics stunted plant growth by up to 51% and triggered cellular stress responses. Genetic analysis revealed the microplastics disrupted the plant's immune and growth pathways, providing insight into how plastic pollution in agricultural soil could affect food crops.

2024 Emerging contaminants 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Freeze-thaw differentially modulates the impact of agricultural film-derived microplastics on soil-crop system: Microbiome and metabolome responses

This study investigated how freeze-thaw cycling alters the properties and phytotoxicity of agricultural film-derived microplastics in soil, using both microbiome and metabolome analyses in wheat and soil systems. Freeze-thaw aging changed MP surface chemistry and differentially altered microbial community composition and plant metabolic responses compared to un-aged MPs.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Revealing the metabolomics and biometrics underlying phytotoxicity mechanisms for polystyrene nanoplastics and dibutyl phthalate in dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics and a common plasticizer called dibutyl phthalate affect dandelion plants, both individually and in combination. They found that combined exposure significantly impaired plant growth, triggered oxidative stress, and disrupted key metabolic pathways more severely than either pollutant alone. The study suggests that the co-occurrence of nanoplastics and plastic additives in soil may pose compounding risks to plant health.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations