Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Advances in Synthetic Strategies for Microalgal Carotenoid Enhancement and Emerging Applications

Scientists have found better ways to use tiny water plants called microalgae to make carotenoids - the natural compounds that give carrots their orange color and help protect our eyes and fight inflammation in our bodies. This research review shows that microalgae can produce these healthy compounds more cheaply and sustainably than current methods, which could make carotenoid supplements and foods more affordable. These advances matter because carotenoids help prevent disease and support vision health, but they're currently expensive to produce.

2026 Antioxidants
Article Tier 2

Combinatorial Effect of Multiple Abiotic Factors on Up-Regulation of Carotenoids and Lipids in Monoraphidium sp. for Pharmacological and Nutraceutical Applications

Researchers investigated combinatorial abiotic stress factors to enhance carotenoid and lipid production in Monoraphidium sp. microalgae, identifying optimal conditions for boosting yields relevant to pharmacological and nutraceutical applications.

2023 Applied Sciences 7 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and endophytic bacteria on peanuts under the combined pollution of cadmium and microplastics

Researchers tested whether beneficial soil fungi and bacteria could help peanut plants cope with combined contamination from cadmium and microplastics. They found that the microbial treatment effectively trapped cadmium in the plant roots, preventing it from moving into the shoots and edible parts. The study suggests that harnessing natural soil microbes could be a practical strategy for growing safer food in polluted farmland.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Selenium-containing polysaccharide from Spirulina platensis alleviates Cd-induced toxicity in mice by inhibiting liver inflammation mediated by gut microbiota

Researchers found that selenium-containing polysaccharide from Spirulina platensis alleviates cadmium-induced liver toxicity in mice by modulating gut microbiota composition and suppressing inflammatory pathways, suggesting a protective role against heavy metal exposure.

2022 Frontiers in Nutrition 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Saccharomyces cerevisiae additions normalized hemocyte differential genes expression and regulated crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) oxidative damage under cadmium stress

Researchers tested whether adding the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to crayfish feed could reduce cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) accumulation in the animals, finding that a 5% supplementation removed over 66% of cadmium after 21 days while also reducing oxidative damage. The findings suggest this probiotic approach could help produce safer, cadmium-free farmed crayfish.

2023 Scientific Reports 5 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

Combinatorial Effect of Multiple Variables on Carotenoids and Lipids Up-Regulation in Monoraphidium sp. for Pharmacological and Nutraceutical Applications

Researchers optimized multiple variables simultaneously to enhance carotenoid and lipid production in the microalgae Monoraphidium sp., identifying combinations of nutrient stress, light intensity, and culture conditions that significantly boosted yields relevant to pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.

2023 Preprints.org 3 citations
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

Nanoplastics increase algal absorption and toxicity of Cd through alterations in cell wall structure and composition

Lab experiments showed that polystyrene nanoplastics made freshwater algae more vulnerable to cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) by altering the structure of their cell walls, allowing more cadmium to enter the cells. This matters for human health because nanoplastics in waterways may increase how much toxic metal accumulates in aquatic food chains that eventually reach our plates.

2024 Water Research 47 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

Effect of dietary Bacillus subtilis supplement on Cd toxicokinetics and Cd-induced immune and antioxidant impairment of Procambarus clarkii

Researchers exposed red swamp crayfish to cadmium at 0.1 and 1.0 mg/L with and without dietary Bacillus subtilis supplementation, finding dose- and time-dependent cadmium accumulation with gills showing highest uptake, and demonstrating that Bacillus subtilis supplementation ameliorated cadmium-induced immune and antioxidant impairment across crayfish tissues.

2022 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Synergistic modulation of Lead (II) bioavailability by polyethylene terephthalate microplastics and insights into assimilation kinetics in Canna indica

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (microplastics) in soil can make plants absorb up to 250% more lead, a toxic heavy metal that's harmful to humans. This happens because the plastic pieces act like a delivery system, carrying more lead into plants that we might eventually eat. This research suggests that areas with plastic pollution in the soil could pose greater health risks than previously thought, especially for crops grown in contaminated areas.

2026 International Journal of Science and Research Archive
Article Tier 2

Proteomics ofPenicillium chrysogenumfor a Deeper Understanding of Lead (Pb) Metal Bioremediation

Researchers studied how the common fungus Penicillium chrysogenum responds at the protein level when exposed to lead contamination. They identified 43 proteins that changed significantly under lead stress, providing new insights into the biological mechanisms this fungus uses to tolerate and absorb heavy metals, which could be useful for developing nature-based approaches to cleaning up contaminated environments.

2024 ACS Omega 7 citations
Article Tier 2

New insights into car tire rubber particle toxicity: chemical composition and ecotoxicity assessment of leachate on gamete quality of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Researchers studied how tire rubber particles, a major source of microplastic pollution, affect the reproductive health of Mediterranean mussels. Chemical analysis of tire particle leachate revealed high levels of zinc and various organic compounds, and exposure caused significant damage to mussel egg and sperm quality. The findings suggest that the chemicals leaching from tire wear debris in coastal waters may threaten the reproductive success of marine organisms.

2025 Environment International 3 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

Hunting for pigments in bacterial settlers of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Researchers cultured bacteria from plastic debris floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and found that many produce protective pigments, including carotenoids like beta-carotene. Genomic analysis revealed that the ability to make these pigments is more common in plastic biofilm communities than in surrounding seawater, and one strain appears to be a new species capable of a type of photosynthesis not previously seen on plastic surfaces.

2024 Environmental Microbiology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Copepods' true colors: astaxanthin pigmentation as an indicator of fitness

This review explores how carotenoid pigmentation, particularly the molecule astaxanthin, serves as a visible indicator of health and fitness in copepods, a dominant type of zooplankton. Researchers found that the bright red-orange coloring in copepods is linked to their ability to handle environmental stressors like UV radiation and oxidative damage. The study proposes that pigmentation could be used as a simple, practical tool for assessing the overall condition of zooplankton populations in aquatic ecosystems.

2023 Ecosphere 26 citations
Article Tier 2

In vitro assessment of the toxicity of lead (Pb2+) to phycocyanin

Researchers investigated how lead (Pb²⁺) ions interact with phycocyanin — a protein pigment from cyanobacteria — finding that lead statically quenches phycocyanin fluorescence, causes protein aggregation, and alters secondary structure, with greater impact on tyrosine than tryptophan residues.

2017 Chemosphere 28 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

Maize adaptation to low-dose nanoplastic–lead co-contamination: Foliar metabolic reprogramming and phyllospheric microbiome restructuring

Researchers simulated rain-deposited co-exposure of maize seedlings to nanoplastics and lead at environmentally relevant concentrations and found that while plant growth was not visibly impaired over 45 days, leaf metabolism shifted toward lipid processing and away from carbon metabolism, and the leaf microbiome restructured toward stress-tolerant microbial taxa.

2025 NanoImpact
Article Tier 2

Metarhizium anisopliae Mitigates the Phytotoxicity of Lead and Nanoplastics on Rice by Modifying Physiological, Transcriptomic, Metabolomic Activities, and Soil Microbiome

Researchers found that inoculating rice seeds with the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae reduced the harmful effects of both lead and nanoplastic pollution on rice seedlings. The fungus worked by restricting lead uptake, restoring antioxidant balance, activating protective metabolic pathways, and reshaping the soil bacterial community to favor plant-growth-promoting species.

2026 Advanced Science
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

Microplastic-Enhanced Cadmium Toxicity: A Growing Threat to the Sea Grape, Caulerpa lentillifera

Researchers studied how microplastics combined with the heavy metal cadmium affect the sea grape, an ecologically important marine seaweed. They found that microplastics enhanced cadmium accumulation in the seaweed and worsened toxic effects on growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant defenses. The study highlights that microplastics can amplify heavy metal toxicity in marine plants, posing a compounding threat to coastal ecosystems.

2024 Antioxidants 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Dietary Arthrospira platensis in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): A Means to Reduce Threats Caused by CdCl2 Exposure?

Researchers investigated whether dietary Spirulina supplementation could protect rainbow trout from cadmium chloride toxicity, evaluating growth performance, immune response, and tissue damage to assess its potential as a protective feed additive in aquaculture.

2022 Toxics 32 citations