Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum

The simultaneous presence of microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals in soil may result in heightened toxicity, causing more significant adverse effects on plant growth. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have demonstrated significant capacities in alleviating the toxic stress caused by the co...

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Main Authors: Si-Yu Zhao, Yue-Liang Meng, Zi-Han Yang, B. Larry Li, Yu-Ying Li, Hui Han, Ling Liu, Peng-Fei Duan, Zhao-Jin Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1549043/full
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author Si-Yu Zhao
Yue-Liang Meng
Zi-Han Yang
B. Larry Li
Yu-Ying Li
Hui Han
Ling Liu
Peng-Fei Duan
Zhao-Jin Chen
author_facet Si-Yu Zhao
Yue-Liang Meng
Zi-Han Yang
B. Larry Li
Yu-Ying Li
Hui Han
Ling Liu
Peng-Fei Duan
Zhao-Jin Chen
author_sort Si-Yu Zhao
collection DOAJ
description The simultaneous presence of microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals in soil may result in heightened toxicity, causing more significant adverse effects on plant growth. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have demonstrated significant capacities in alleviating the toxic stress caused by the combined pollution of heavy metals and other contaminants. However, research on the impacts and processes of PGPR in alleviating stress induced by the combined pollution from MPs and heavy metals is still insufficient. This study involved a pot experiment to evaluate the ability of PGPR to mitigate stress induced by the combined pollution from polypropylene microplastic (PP MPs) particles of different sizes (6.5 μm and 830 μm) and the heavy metal cadmium (Cd) in the bioenergy plant hybrid Pennisetum. Moreover, metagenomic analysis was used to examine the effects of PGPR on the rhizospheric microbial community and function. The cocontamination of PP and Cd affected the growth of the hybrid Pennisetum differently depending on the size of the MPs particles, with the aboveground and underground lengths of the 6.5 μm PP + Cd experimental group being smaller than those of the 830 μm PP + Cd group. The PGPRs (Bacillus sp. Y-35, Bacillus sp. Y-62, Bacillus sp. Y-S, and Enterobacter sp. Y-V) successfully alleviated the stress caused by the combined pollution of PP and Cd, resulting in increases of 8.24 and 42.21% in the plant height and dry weight, respectively. The metagenomic studies indicated that the cocontamination of PP and Cd, along with PGPR inoculation, altered the composition of the rhizospheric bacterial community, leading to changes in microbial diversity indices and the composition of dominant groups such as Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota, and Acidobacteriota. The functional analysis revealed that the main functional groups involved glucose metabolism, energy metabolism, signal transduction, and nucleotide metabolism. The MPs particle size and different PGPR significantly affected functions such as the pentose phosphate pathway, benzoate degradation, and amide biosynthesis. This study provides essential data and scientific evidence on the ecotoxicological effects of simultaneous contamination by MPs and heavy metals, as well as insights into potential bioremediation methods.
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spelling doaj-art-dbb7fa4a0b4148859845cfafed71fcc52025-08-20T02:43:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-02-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.15490431549043Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid PennisetumSi-Yu Zhao0Yue-Liang Meng1Zi-Han Yang2B. Larry Li3Yu-Ying Li4Hui Han5Ling Liu6Peng-Fei Duan7Zhao-Jin Chen8Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Mid-Route Project of South-North Water Diversion of Henan Province, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaCollaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Mid-Route Project of South-North Water Diversion of Henan Province, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaCollaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Mid-Route Project of South-North Water Diversion of Henan Province, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaOverseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, Nanyang, ChinaOverseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, Nanyang, ChinaCollaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Mid-Route Project of South-North Water Diversion of Henan Province, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaCollege of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, ChinaCollaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Mid-Route Project of South-North Water Diversion of Henan Province, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaOverseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Watershed Ecological Security in the Water Source Area of the Mid-line Project of South-to-North Water Diversion, Nanyang, ChinaThe simultaneous presence of microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals in soil may result in heightened toxicity, causing more significant adverse effects on plant growth. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have demonstrated significant capacities in alleviating the toxic stress caused by the combined pollution of heavy metals and other contaminants. However, research on the impacts and processes of PGPR in alleviating stress induced by the combined pollution from MPs and heavy metals is still insufficient. This study involved a pot experiment to evaluate the ability of PGPR to mitigate stress induced by the combined pollution from polypropylene microplastic (PP MPs) particles of different sizes (6.5 μm and 830 μm) and the heavy metal cadmium (Cd) in the bioenergy plant hybrid Pennisetum. Moreover, metagenomic analysis was used to examine the effects of PGPR on the rhizospheric microbial community and function. The cocontamination of PP and Cd affected the growth of the hybrid Pennisetum differently depending on the size of the MPs particles, with the aboveground and underground lengths of the 6.5 μm PP + Cd experimental group being smaller than those of the 830 μm PP + Cd group. The PGPRs (Bacillus sp. Y-35, Bacillus sp. Y-62, Bacillus sp. Y-S, and Enterobacter sp. Y-V) successfully alleviated the stress caused by the combined pollution of PP and Cd, resulting in increases of 8.24 and 42.21% in the plant height and dry weight, respectively. The metagenomic studies indicated that the cocontamination of PP and Cd, along with PGPR inoculation, altered the composition of the rhizospheric bacterial community, leading to changes in microbial diversity indices and the composition of dominant groups such as Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota, and Acidobacteriota. The functional analysis revealed that the main functional groups involved glucose metabolism, energy metabolism, signal transduction, and nucleotide metabolism. The MPs particle size and different PGPR significantly affected functions such as the pentose phosphate pathway, benzoate degradation, and amide biosynthesis. This study provides essential data and scientific evidence on the ecotoxicological effects of simultaneous contamination by MPs and heavy metals, as well as insights into potential bioremediation methods.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1549043/fullplant growth-promoting rhizobacteriapolypropylene (PP)hybrid Pennisetummetagenomicsmicrobial function
spellingShingle Si-Yu Zhao
Yue-Liang Meng
Zi-Han Yang
B. Larry Li
Yu-Ying Li
Hui Han
Ling Liu
Peng-Fei Duan
Zhao-Jin Chen
Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum
Frontiers in Microbiology
plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria
polypropylene (PP)
hybrid Pennisetum
metagenomics
microbial function
title Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum
title_full Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum
title_fullStr Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum
title_full_unstemmed Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum
title_short Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum
title_sort rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in pgpr mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and cd in hybrid pennisetum
topic plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria
polypropylene (PP)
hybrid Pennisetum
metagenomics
microbial function
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1549043/full
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