Membrane Lipid Remodeling Modulated Maize Response to Environmentally Relevant Atmospheric Nanoplastics

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Plant Biology
• Toxicology

Background:

• Atmospheric nanoplastics deposit on plants, impacting growth.
• Plant lipid remodeling is a key stress response, but its molecular reaction to nanoplastics is unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the molecular response of maize leaves to atmospheric polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs).
• To understand the role of lipid remodeling in plant interactions with nanoplastics.

Main Methods:

• Maize leaves were exposed to pristine (nPS), carboxy (nPS-COOH), and amino (nPS-NH2) functionalized 50 nm PSNPs.
• Lipidomics and transcriptomics analyses were used to assess impacts on lipids and gene expression.
• Weighted gene coexpression network analysis identified key genes involved in lipid metabolism.

Main Results:

• nPS-NH2 induced the strongest phenotypic and physiological inhibition in maize.
• PSNPs were internalized via stomata, with nPS-NH2 showing highest absorption efficiency.
• PSNPs significantly inhibited the biosynthesis of membrane lipids and altered gene expression, with five key genes identified.

Conclusions:

• Atmospheric nanoplastics, particularly nPS-NH2, negatively affect maize growth and lipid metabolism.
• Lipid remodeling is a crucial molecular mechanism in plant response to nanoplastic stress.
• Findings offer insights into crop-nanoplastic interactions at the molecular level.