Divergent responses in microbial metabolic limitations and carbon use efficiency to variably sized polystyrene microplastics in soil

Bibliographic Data

ID21648057
AuthorsGuanlin Li (0000-0002-5424-1534, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Green Technology and Contingency Management for Emerging Pollutants Jiangsu University Zhenjiang People's Republic of China), Yi Tang (0000-0002-0607-3951, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Green Technology and Contingency Management for Emerging Pollutants Jiangsu University Zhenjiang People's Republic of China), Yowhan Son (0000-0001-5621-9894, Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering Korea University Seoul Republic of Korea), Xiaoxun Zhao (0000-0003-0601-6620, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Green Technology and Contingency Management for Emerging Pollutants Jiangsu University Zhenjiang People's Republic of China, corresponding author), Babar Iqbal (0000-0002-2115-8494, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Green Technology and Contingency Management for Emerging Pollutants Jiangsu University Zhenjiang People's Republic of China), Kiran Yasmin Khan (0000-0001-6025-1512, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Green Technology and Contingency Management for Emerging Pollutants Jiangsu University Zhenjiang People's Republic of China), Ruoyu Guo (0000-0002-3625-5983, Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem Dynamics Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources Hangzhou People's Republic of China), Weiqing Yin (Zhenjiang Environmental Monitoring Center of Jiangsu Province Zhenjiang People's Republic of China), Xin Zhao (0000-0002-6232-9835, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering Seoul National University Seoul Republic of Korea, corresponding author), Daolin Du (0000-0002-8369-3564, Jingjiang College, Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Emergency Management, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Agricultural Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang People's Republic of China, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume35
Issue7
Pages2658-2671
Publication date2024-04-30
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLand Degradation and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ldr.5090
OpenAlexW4394860647
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited48

Microplastics, considered emerging contaminants, have been accumulating excessively within soil ecosystems, conferring potentially detrimental effects with respect to soil carbon turnover and pools. As a major participant in soil carbon processes, microplastics affecting microorganisms may be one of the main agents affecting soil carbon dynamics. However, the microbial metabolism processes through which microplastics affect soil carbon dynamics remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of variously sized (1300, 800, 100, and 0.1 μm) polystyrene microplastics on soil microbial metabolism. Soil microplastics of all sizes invariably and consistently affected microbial metabolism, though nanomicroplastics (0.1 μm) stressed soil microorganisms more than micron‐microplastics. Furthermore, microplastics inhibited both microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and respiration, the exception being the CUE in the 1300 μm microplastics treatment. As microplastic particle size decreased, the suppressive influence of microplastics on microbial respiration was gradually lost, the inhibitory effect on microbial CUE increased steadily, and the impact on microorganisms shifted from extracellular to intracellular, with intracellular microplastics exhibiting higher toxicity than extracellular microplastics. We used stoichiometric models to provide precise projections of microbial metabolism features associated with microplastic contamination, thereby enhancing the understanding of the effects of microplastic contamination on the carbon cycle and soil ecosystem

Bacteria · Biology · Carbon cycle · Ecosystem · Microbial population biology · Microorganism · Microplastics · Soil biology · Soil carbon · Soil water · biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Graphene and Nanomaterials Applications · Microplastics and Plastic Pollution · Ecology · Environmental Chemistry

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