Person:
Martín Fernández, Margarita

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First Name
Margarita
Last Name
Martín Fernández
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/80450
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Veterinaria
Department
Bioquímica y Biología Molecular
Area
Bioquímica y Biología Molecular
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Author: Mengs, Gerardo × Subject: 61 ×

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    Transcriptomic and physiological effects of polyethylene microplastics on Zea mays seedlings and their role as a vector for organic pollutants
    (Chemosphere, 2023) Martín, Carmen; Piredda, Michela; Fajardo, Carmen; Costa Buitrago, Gonzalo Antonio; Sánchez-Fortún Rodríguez, Sebastián; Nande Barbeitos, María Del Mar; Mengs, Gerardo; Martín Fernández, Margarita
    The widespread employment of plastics in recent decades has resulted in the accumulation of plastic residues in all ecosystems. Their presence and degradation into small particles such as microplastics (MPs) may have a negative effect on plant development and therefore on crop production. In this study, the effects of two types of polyethylene MPs on Zea mays seedlings cultured in vitro were analysed. In addition, four organic pollutants (ibuprofen, simazine, sertraline, and amoxicillin) were adsorbed by the MPs to evaluate their capacity as other contaminant vectors. The development of the plants was negatively affected by MPs alone or with the organic compounds. The strongest effect was observed in the W-MPs treatments, with a reduction in leaf and root length near 70%. Chlorophyll content was also differentially affected depending on the treatment. Transcriptome analysis showed that MPs affected gene expression in the roots of maize seedlings. As observed in the physiological parameters analysed, some gene expression changes were associated with specific treatments, such as changes in sugar transport genes in the B-MIX treatment. These results contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of plants in regard to plastic stress responses.