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A Study on the Growth and Physiological Toxicity Effects of the Combined Exposure of Microplastics and Cadmium on the Vicia faba L. Seedlings

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Abstract

To investigate the toxicological effects of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs), cadmium (Cd), and their combined contamination on the growth and physiological responses of V. faba seedlings, this experiment employed a hydroponic method. The Hoagland nutrient solution served as the control, changes in root growth, physiological and biochemical indicators of V. faba seedlings under different concentrations of PS-MPs (10, 100 mg/L) alone and combined with 0.5 mg/L Cd. The results demonstrated that the root biomass, root vitality, generation rate of superoxide radicals (O2·−), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity increased with increasing concentration under the influence of PS-MPs alone, while the soluble sugar content and peroxidase (POD) activity decreased. In the combined treatment with Cd, the trends of these indicators are generally similar to the PS-MPs alone treatment group. However, root vitality and SOD activity showed an inverse relationship with the concentration of PS-MPs. Furthermore, laser confocal and electron microscopy scanning revealed that the green fluorescent polystyrene microspheres entered the root tips of the V. faba and underwent agglomeration in the treatment group with a low concentration of PS-MPs alone and a high concentration of composite PS-MPs with Cd.

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Funding

This work was funded by Projects of Education Department of Anhui Province (KJ2020A0649), and Projects of Huainan Normal University (2023XJZD020, 2023XJYB035).

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Author notes

  1. Hui Wang and Yaliang Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Engineering, Huainan Normal University, Huainan, 232038, China

    Hui Wang, Yaliang Li, Ling Liu, Haitao Liu, Junhong Su, Sheng Xu, Yifan Zhou, Siyu Zhang & Chi**g Xu

  2. Key Laboratory of Bioresoure and Environmental Biotechnology of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Huainan, 232038, Anhui, China

    Hui Wang & Yaliang Li

Authors
  1. Hui Wang
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  2. Yaliang Li
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  3. Ling Liu
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  4. Haitao Liu
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  8. Siyu Zhang
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Contributions

Hui Wang: Writing-original draft, Methodology. Yaliang Li: Writing-original draft, Formal analysis. Ling Liu: Supervision, Writing-review & editing. Haitao Liu: Funding acquisition, Conceptualization. Junhong Su: Methodology, Visualization. Sheng Xu: Formal analysis, Investigation. Yifan Zhou: Prepared plant materials. Siyu Zhang: Investigation. Chi**g Xu: Investigation.

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Correspondence to Ling Liu.

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Wang, H., Li, Y., Liu, L. et al. A Study on the Growth and Physiological Toxicity Effects of the Combined Exposure of Microplastics and Cadmium on the Vicia faba L. Seedlings. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 112, 83 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-024-03899-6

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