The DOI matches its Crossref record; 9 of the 9 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
LDPE microplastics affect soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) are a contaminant of increasing concern in the environment. However, the impacts of MPs on soil ecosystems and biogeochemical processes like nitrogen cycle have not been well elucidated. In this study, we designed an indoor microcosm experiment to investigate the effects of exposure to low density polyethylene (LDPE) MPs on soil bacterial community and nitrogen cycling function over a 90-day incubation. Next-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes revealed that both 2% and 7% LDPE MPs exposure slightly affected the soil bacterial diversity. Further analysis at the genus level showed differential tolerance to LDPE MPs, the genera Pedomicrobium, Steroidobacter, Pseudonocardia, Nitrospira and Turicibacter were enriched in the soil with 2% (w/w) LDPE MPs amendment, while the genera Pedomicrobium, Mycobacterium and Hyphomicrobium were significantly enriched in the soil with 7% (w/w) LDPE MPs amendment on days 15 and 30. Co-occurrence network analysis further suggested that LDPE MPs changed bacterial network complexity and modularity and Acidobacteria formed intimate associations with each other in responding to LDPE MPs exposure. Additionally, LDPE MPs in soil increased the abundance of nifH, AOBamoA and nirK genes involved in nitrogen cycling in different incubation phases compared to the control. The abundance of AOAamoA genes decreased on day 15 and then increased. Conversely, the abundance of nirS genes increased during the first 15 days and then decreased. These results suggested that both 2% and 7% LDPE MPs impact soil bacterial network structure and alters functional groups involved in soil nitrogen cycling processing.
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Cites
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Cited by
Xu, Y., Ou, Q., van der Hoek, J. P., Liu, G., & Lompe, K. M. (2024) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.3c07035 · Cited by 325
Dissanayake, P. D., Palansooriya, K. N., Sang, M. K., Oh, D. X., Park, J., Hwang, S. Y., Igalavithana, A. D., Gu, C., & Ok, Y. S. (2022) · Soil Use and Management · doi:10.1111/sum.12804 · Cited by 57
Masseroni, A., Federico, L., Becchi, A., Quinto, M., Saliu, F., & Villa, S. (2026) · Toxics · doi:10.3390/toxics14060502 · Cited by 2
The dual role of biochar in modulating microplastic effects on soil nitrogen
Zhang, Y., Hussain, K., Tang, X., Lan, T., Yan, C., Li, Y., Wu, Y., Li, J., & Gao, X. (2026) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2026.1862201
Metadata
- Authors
- Rong, L., Zhao, L., Zhao, L., Cheng, Z., Yao, Y., Yuan, C., Wang, L., & Sun, H.
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-06
- Volume
- 773
- Pages
- 145640
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3127433762
- Cited by
- 436
- References
- 9
- FWCI
- 14.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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- Rong, L., Zhao, L., Zhao, L., Cheng, Z., Yao, Y., Yuan, C., Wang, L., & Sun, H. (2021). LDPE microplastics affect soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling. Science of The Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145640
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