Abstract
Microplastic pollution in farmlands has become a source of major concern, but few previous studies have focused on the effect of microplastics on higher plants. In this study, the distribution of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) of four different particle sizes (100, 300, 500, and 700 nm) was investigated in cucumber plants, and their influence on physiological indexes of the root system and fruit quality was determined. The results showed that PSNPs initially accumulated in the root system before being transported to the aboveground parts of the plant. Finally, they were distributed in the leaves, flowers, and fruits, through the stems. The 300-nm plastic microspheres significantly increased root activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline content of the roots. The results demonstrated that the environmental pressures caused by PSNPs of different particle sizes were different. The amount of soluble protein in cucumber fruits was significantly increased, and the levels of Mg, Ca, and Fe were significantly decreased by PSNPs of different particle sizes. Our findings provide a scientific basis for risk assessment of PSNP exposure in the soil–plant systems.
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This work was financially supported by Key projects of Henan province universities (20B210003).
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Zhenxia Li conceived the experiments; Zhenxia Li and Ruijing Li performed the experiments and analyzed the data; Junguo Zhou and Guangyin Wang contributed materials; Zhenxia Li wrote the paper; and Qingfei Li revised the paper.
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Figure S1.
500 nm PSNPs show breakage in the stems under SEM (PNG 1403 kb)
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Li, Z., Li, Q., Li, R. et al. The distribution and impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on cucumber plants. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 16042–16053 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11702-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11702-2