Recently, the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences led a study on the harm of microplastics to cotton, and found that microplastics can be absorbed by cotton seedlings, significantly affect the growth of cotton seedlings, and change their gene expression and metabolic pathways. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the toxicity evaluation and pollution remediation of microplastics on plastic film cover crops. The findings were published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.
Mulch film has the functions of warming, moisturizing, weeding, etc., and is widely used in cotton production. However, the degradation of plastic film has caused a large accumulation of microplastics in cotton fields, and the adverse effects of microplastics on cotton are still unclear.
The study used fluorescently labeled polystyrene microplastics to trace the absorption and transport of microplastics by cotton roots through the apoplast pathway. Microplastics can significantly inhibit the growth of cotton seedlings, induce oxidative stress in cotton seedlings, activate the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, lead to the accumulation of lignin and flavonoids, and affect the metabolism of cotton sucrose. The results of this study systematically evaluated the effects of microplastics on cotton from multiple levels such as phenotype, cell, gene and metabolism, and provided a theoretical basis for the control and remediation of microplastic pollution in cotton fields.
The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province.
Original link:
Hatps://doi.org/10.1016/j.j.2024.133581
- Source: Cotton Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
- Editor: Sheng Ran
- Typesetting: Xiaotong