Effects of combined microplastic and cadmium pollution on sorghum growth, Cd accumulation, and rhizosphere microbial functions

Li-Yang Duan; Yu Zhang; Yu-Ying Li; Xiao-Qi Li; Yong-Qi Liu; B. Larry Li; Chuan-Yu Ding; Xue-Min Ren; Peng-Fei Duan; Hui Han; Zhao-Jin Chen

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (Jun 2024)

Effects of combined microplastic and cadmium pollution on sorghum growth, Cd accumulation, and rhizosphere microbial functions

Li-Yang Duan,
Yu Zhang,
Yu-Ying Li,
Xiao-Qi Li,
Yong-Qi Liu,
B. Larry Li,
Chuan-Yu Ding,
Xue-Min Ren,
Peng-Fei Duan,
Hui Han,
Zhao-Jin Chen

Affiliations

Li-Yang Duan: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Yu Zhang: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Yu-Ying Li: Corresponding authors.; Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Xiao-Qi Li: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Yong-Qi Liu: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
B. Larry Li: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Chuan-Yu Ding: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Xue-Min Ren: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Peng-Fei Duan: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Hui Han: Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
Zhao-Jin Chen: Corresponding authors.; Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 277
p. 116380

Abstract

Read online

The interaction between microplastics (MPs) and cadmium (Cd) poses a threat to agricultural soil environments, and their effects on plant growth and rhizosphere microbial community functions are not yet clear. In this study, energy sorghum was used as a test plant to investigate the effects of two types of MPs, polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene (PE), at different particle sizes (13 μm, 550 μm) and concentrations (0.1%, 1% w/w), and Cd, as well as their interactions, on the growth of sorghum in a soil-cultivation pot experiment. The results showed that the combined effects of MP and Cd pollution on the dry weight and Cd accumulation rate in sorghum varied depending on the type, concentration, and particle size of the MPs, with an overall trend of increasing stress from combined pollution with increasing Cd content and accumulation. High-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that combined MP and Cd pollution increased bacterial diversity, and the most significant increase was observed in the abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE), Shannon, and Sobs indices in the 13 μm 1% PS+Cd treatment group. Metagenomic analysis based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathways revealed that 19 groups of metabolic pathways, including microbial metabolism and methane metabolism, differed significantly under combined MP and Cd pollution. Hierarchical clustering results indicated that Cd treatment and combined MP and Cd treatment affected the abundances of sorghum rhizosphere soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling genes and that the type of MP present was an important factor affecting N and P cycling genes. The results of this study provide a basis for exploring the toxic effects of combined MP and Cd pollution and for conducting soil environmental risk assessments.

Published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

ISSN: 0147-6513 (Print); 1090-2414 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Technology: Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering: Environmental pollution; Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecotoxicology-and-environmental-safety

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords