Chen Shuyi, Wu Peng, Ren Hao, Shen Guohua, Xiong Zhuang, Zhao Wenlin, Guo Xiang, Xiang Peng, Xu Junqiang, Li Qiang
Key Laboratory of Coarse Cereal Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sichuan Engineering & Technology Research Center of Coarse Cereal Industrialization, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China.
Yunnan Plateau Characteristic Agricultural Industry Research Institute, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2025 Sep 1;302:118665. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118665. Epub 2025 Jul 10.
Microplastics (MPs) are widely distributed in the environment and have an important impact on the ecosystem. However, there are fewer studies on the effects of microplastics and their degrading bacteria on crops. The aim of this study was to investigate the response mechanism of cucumber seedlings to a 5 ‰ concentration of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) treated with degrading bacteria. Surprisingly, the plant height, stem diameter, and leaf area of cucumber seedlings increased significantly by 17.19 %, 25.54 %, and 15.41 %, respectively, after the application of large PS-MP. The addition of a degrading bacterial mixture improved the agronomic traits of the cucumber seedlings to some extent. The application of small PS-MP and degrading bacteria significantly increased the soil organic carbon content, whereas the large PS-MP had the opposite effect (P < 0.05). Compared to the control group, all treatments significantly increased soil microbial diversity and significantly reduced the abundance of Pseudomonas (P < 0.05). The PS-MPs treatment affected bacterial enzyme functions, including oxidoreductases, while the degrading bacteria enhanced reductase and hydratase functions. Transcriptome analysis further revealed that the PS-MPs treatment affected the biosynthesis process of cucumber seedlings, while treatment with degrading bacteria significantly increased root synthesis and metabolism in the plant. This study enhances understanding of PS-MPs pollution and shows that degrading bacteria, as bioremediation, hold potential for mitigating its adverse effects on plants and soil.
微塑料（MPs）广泛分布于环境中，对生态系统有重要影响。然而，关于微塑料及其降解细菌对作物影响的研究较少。本研究的目的是探究黄瓜幼苗对经降解细菌处理的5‰浓度聚苯乙烯微塑料（PS-MPs）的响应机制。令人惊讶的是，施用大尺寸PS-MP后，黄瓜幼苗的株高、茎粗和叶面积分别显著增加了17.19%、25.54%和15.41%。添加降解细菌混合物在一定程度上改善了黄瓜幼苗的农艺性状。施用小尺寸PS-MP和降解细菌显著增加了土壤有机碳含量，而大尺寸PS-MP则产生相反的效果（P<0.05）。与对照组相比，所有处理均显著增加了土壤微生物多样性，并显著降低了假单胞菌的丰度（P<0.05）。PS-MPs处理影响细菌酶功能，包括氧化还原酶，而降解细菌增强了还原酶和水化酶功能。转录组分析进一步表明，PS-MPs处理影响黄瓜幼苗的生物合成过程，而用降解细菌处理显著增加了植物根系的合成和代谢。本研究增进了对PS-MPs污染的理解，并表明降解细菌作为生物修复手段，在减轻其对植物和土壤的不利影响方面具有潜力。
