College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Jinming Campus, Kaifeng, 475004, Henan, China.
Henan Key Laboratory of Earth System Observation and Modeling, Henan University, Jinming Campus, Kaifeng, 475004, Henan, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Sep;30(45):101178-101191. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-29534-1. Epub 2023 Aug 30.
The interaction of microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals (HMs) can lead to aggravation of detrimental effects in the plants, animals, and even human beings. Keeping this in view, the present study was designed to assess the combined toxic effects of polyethylene MPs (PE-MPs) and cadmium (Cd) on germination indices and seedling growth of soybean (Glycine max). Particle sizes of 13 and 6.5 μm and six treatments (control, Cd, 6.5 μm PE, 6.5 μm PE + Cd, 13 μm PE, and 13 μm PE + Cd) were set to simulate the effects of PE-MPs and Cd on the growth of soybean when used alone or in combined form. As compared to the control, 6.5 μm PE treatment showed significant effect on most of the germination indices, i.e., decrease in the germination index by 31%, 44% decrease in the vigor index, and 28% decrease in germination rate whereas mean germination time showed no significant differences. Treatment of smaller-size PE-MPs and Cd significantly inhibited both dry and fresh weights. All treatment groups resulted in significant effect on catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase activities of seedlings depicting adverse effects of interaction of PE-MPs and Cd. Our findings demonstrated the phyto-toxicity of PE-MPs and Cd in G. max, and it would lead to serious implications in human beings. Our study is important as it provides preliminary information regarding MP absorption and their accumulation in different levels of food chain. It can also form the basis for future research on single the combined effects of different types and sizes of MPs and heavy metals on the terrestrial plants.
微塑料（MPs）和重金属（HMs）的相互作用会导致植物、动物甚至人类的有害影响加剧。有鉴于此，本研究旨在评估聚乙烯 MPs（PE-MPs）和镉（Cd）对大豆（Glycine max）发芽指数和幼苗生长的联合毒性作用。设定了粒径为 13 和 6.5μm 的六种处理（对照、Cd、6.5μm PE、6.5μm PE+Cd、13μm PE 和 13μm PE+Cd），以模拟单独或组合使用 PE-MPs 和 Cd 对大豆生长的影响。与对照相比，6.5μm PE 处理对大多数发芽指数有显著影响，即发芽指数下降 31%，活力指数下降 44%，发芽率下降 28%，而平均发芽时间没有显著差异。较小粒径的 PE-MPs 和 Cd 的处理显著抑制了干重和鲜重。所有处理组均对幼苗的过氧化氢酶、过氧化物酶和超氧化物歧化酶活性产生显著影响，表明 PE-MPs 和 Cd 的相互作用产生了不利影响。我们的研究结果表明，PE-MPs 和 Cd 对大豆具有植物毒性，并会对人类产生严重影响。我们的研究很重要，因为它提供了有关 MP 吸收及其在不同层次食物链中积累的初步信息。它还可以为未来研究不同类型和粒径的 MPs 和重金属对陆地植物的单一和联合影响奠定基础。
