There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Nano- and microplastics have been widely spread in environmental matrices, especially
in marine and terrestrial systems. In this study, higher plant Vicia faba root tips
were exposed to 5 μm and 100 nm with 10, 50 and 100 mg/L polystyrene fluorescent microplastics
(PS-MPs) for 48 h. Root length, weight, oxidative stress and genotoxicity of V. faba
were assessed to investigate toxic effects of PS-MPs. The results showed that the
biomass and catalase (CAT) enzymes activity of V. faba roots decreased under 5 μm
PS-MPs whereas superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) enzymes activity significantly
increased. Under the 100 nm PS-MPs exposure a significant decrease of growth was observed
only at the highest concentration (100 mg/L). However, micronucleus (MN) test and
antioxidative enzymes activities showed that 100 nm PS-MPs induce higher genotoxic
and oxidative damage to V. faba than 5 μm PS-MPs. Furthermore, the laser confocal
scanning microscopy (LCSM) demonstrated that 100 nm PS-MPs can accumulate in V. faba
root and most probably block cell connections or cell wall pores for transport of
nutrients. These findings provide a new insight into the toxic effects of microplastics
on V. faba, and further apply to the ecological risk assessment of microplastics on
higher plants.