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A Hydroponic Co-cultivation System for Simultaneous and Systematic Analysis of Plant/Microbe Molecular Interactions and Signaling
Published on: July 22, 2017
Microplastics disrupt bacterial defense within the plant-AMF-bacteria continuum to amplify Cd bioavailability
Xiaohui Han1, Yuxuan Gao2, Jixin Chen3
1Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Journal of Hazardous Materials
|August 12, 2026
Summary
Microplastics (MPs) disrupt soil microbial communities, weakening plant defenses against cadmium (Cd) toxicity. This research shows MPs amplify existing Cd risks by impairing root-associated microbes and increasing plant Cd uptake.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Soil Science
- Microbiology
Background:
- The plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)-bacteria continuum protects against heavy-metal toxicity.
- The impact of microplastics (MPs) on this continuum and phytotoxicity is largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how microplastics (MPs) affect the maize-AMF-bacteria system in cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil.
- To determine the role of MP size and morphology in exacerbating Cd phytotoxicity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a maize-AMF-bacteria system with varying Cd concentrations and two MP fractions (small and large).
- Employed metagenomic profiling and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) for microbial analysis.
- Applied partial least squares path modeling to assess Cd uptake drivers.
Main Results:
- AMF colonization was resilient, but MPs caused fraction-dependent bacterial functional shifts.
- Large MPs hindered bacterial cooperation and reduced Cd sequestration potential.
- MPs amplified Cd bioconcentration in maize, with large MPs showing a greater increase (57.5%) than small MPs (32.1%).
Conclusions:
- Microplastics disrupt rhizosphere integrity and microbial buffering capacity, amplifying legacy Cd risks.
- MPs increase plant Cd uptake by compromising natural defense mechanisms, not by increasing bulk-soil Cd availability.
- MP-induced phytotoxicity is linked to the disruption of the crucial plant-microbe-soil interactions.
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