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Puglielli G, Bricca A, Chelli S, Petruzzellis F, Acosta ATR, Bacaro G, Beccari E, Bernardo L, Bonari G, Bolpagni R, Boscutti F, Calvia G, Campetella G, Cancellieri L, Canullo R, Carbognani M, Carboni M, Carranza ML, Castellani MB, Ciccarelli D, Coppi A, Cutini M, Dalla Vecchia A, Dalle Fratte M, de Francesco MC, De Frenne P, De Sanctis M, de Simone L, Di Cecco V, Fanelli G, Farris E, Ferrara A, Fenu G, Filibeck G, Gasperini C, Gargano D, Kindermann E, La Bella G, Lastrucci L, Lazzaro L, Maccherini S, Marignani M, Mugnai M, Naselli-Flores L, Passalacqua NG, Pavanetto N, Petraglia A, Rota F, Santoianni LA, Schettino A, Selvi F, Stanisci A, Trotta G, Vangansbeke P, Varricchione M, Vuerich M, Wellstein C, Tordoni E. Intraspecific variability of leaf form and function across habitat types. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14396. [PMID: 38456670 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Trait-based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV-level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types (coastal dunes, forests, grasslands, heathlands, wetlands) in the Italian peninsula, we found that ITV: (i) rotated the axes of trait variation that define the trait space; (ii) increased the variance explained by these axes and (iii) affected the functional structure of the target trait space. However, the magnitude of these effects was rather small and depended on the trait and habitat type. Our results reinforce the idea that ITV is context-dependent, calling for careful extrapolations of ITV patterns across traits and spatial scales. Importantly, our study provides a framework that can be used to start integrating ITV into trait space analyses.
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Grants
- Ente Parco Nazionale del Pollino (Rotonda, Italy) in the frame of the project "Un laboratorio naturale permanente nel Parco Nazionale del Pollino"
- National Biodiversity Future Center NBFC, CUP J33C22001190001
- European Union - NextGenerationEU within the framework of National Biodiversity Future Center (Spoke 4, Activity 4)
- NBFC to the University of Florence, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, "Dalla ricerca all'impresa", Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033
- NBFC to University of Roma Tre/Department of Science, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, "Dalla ricerca all'impresa", Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033. Grant of Excellence Departments 2018- 2022, MIUR Italy
- NBFC to University of Molise/Department of Bioscience and Territory, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, "Dalla ricerca all'impresa", Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033, MIUR Italy
- PID2021-122214NA-I00 MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by FEDER "ESF Investing in your future"
- Grant of Excellence Departments 2018- 2022, MIUR Italy
- G.Bo. and SM acknowledge the support of NBFC to University of Siena, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, 'Dalla ricerca all', Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Puglielli
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Alessandro Bricca
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Stefano Chelli
- School of Biosciences & Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | | | | | - Giovanni Bacaro
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Eleonora Beccari
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Liliana Bernardo
- Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | - Gianmaria Bonari
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
| | - Rossano Bolpagni
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesco Boscutti
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Giacomo Calvia
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Giandiego Campetella
- School of Biosciences & Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Laura Cancellieri
- Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Roberto Canullo
- School of Biosciences & Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | | | - Marta Carboni
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Laura Carranza
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | | | | | - Andrea Coppi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | | | - Alice Dalla Vecchia
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Michele Dalle Fratte
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Maria Carla de Francesco
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle, Belgium
| | - Michele De Sanctis
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Valter Di Cecco
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Giuliano Fanelli
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Emmanuele Farris
- Department of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Arianna Ferrara
- BIOME Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Fenu
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Goffredo Filibeck
- Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Cristina Gasperini
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Domenico Gargano
- Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | - Elisabeth Kindermann
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Greta La Bella
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Lorenzo Lazzaro
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Simona Maccherini
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
| | - Michela Marignani
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Michele Mugnai
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Luigi Naselli-Flores
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Pavanetto
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Alessandro Petraglia
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesco Rota
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Federico Selvi
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Angela Stanisci
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Giacomo Trotta
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Pieter Vangansbeke
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle, Belgium
| | - Marco Varricchione
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Marco Vuerich
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Camilla Wellstein
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Enrico Tordoni
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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Dainelli M, Castellani MB, Pignattelli S, Falsini S, Ristori S, Papini A, Colzi I, Coppi A, Gonnelli C. Growth, physiological parameters and DNA methylation in Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid exposed to PET micro-nanoplastic contaminated waters. Plant Physiol Biochem 2024; 207:108403. [PMID: 38290343 DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.108403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
The effects of polyethylene terephthalate micro-nanoplastics (PET-MNPs) were tested on the model freshwater species Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid., with focus on possible particle-induced epigenetic effects (i.e. alteration of DNA methylation status). MNPs (size ∼ 200-300 nm) were produced as water dispersions from PET bottles through repeated cycles of homogenization and used to prepare N-medium at two environmentally relevant concentrations (∼0.05 g L-1 and ∼0.1 g L-1 of MNPs). After 10 days of exposure, a reduction in fresh and dry weight was observed in treated plants, even if the average specific growth rate for both frond number and area was not altered. Impaired growth was coupled with a MNP-induced decrease of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (i.e. ΨETo and Piabs, indicators of photochemical efficiency) and starch concentration, as well as with alterations in plant ionomic profile and oxidative status. The methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP) technique was used to assess possible changes in DNA methylation levels induced by plastic particles. The analysis showed unusual hypermethylation in 5'-CCGG sites that could be implicated in DNA protection from dangerous agents (i.e. reactive oxygen species) or in the formation of new epialleles. This work represents the first evidence of MNP-induced epigenetic modifications in the plant world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Dainelli
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - Maria Beatrice Castellani
- Institute of Bioscience and Bioresources (IBBR), National Research Council (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Sara Pignattelli
- Institute of Bioscience and Bioresources (IBBR), National Research Council (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Sara Falsini
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - Sandra Ristori
- Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Firenze, Italy
| | - Alessio Papini
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - Ilaria Colzi
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121, Florence, Italy.
| | - Andrea Coppi
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - Cristina Gonnelli
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121, Florence, Italy
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Dainelli M, Pignattelli S, Bazihizina N, Falsini S, Papini A, Baccelli I, Mancuso S, Coppi A, Castellani MB, Colzi I, Gonnelli C. Can microplastics threaten plant productivity and fruit quality? Insights from Micro-Tom and Micro-PET/PVC. Sci Total Environ 2023; 895:165119. [PMID: 37364840 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Solanum lycopersicum L., a crop grown worldwide with a high nutritional value for the human diet, was used to test the impact of microplastics on plant growth, productivity, and fruit quality. Two of the most represented microplastics in soils, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), were tested. Plants were grown in pots with an environmentally realistic concentration of microplastics and, during the whole crop life cycle, photosynthetic parameters, number of flowers and fruits were monitored. At the end of the cultivation, plant biometry and ionome were evaluated, along with fruit production and quality. Both pollutants had negligible effects on shoot traits, with only PVC causing a significant reduction in shoot fresh weight. Despite an apparent low or no toxicity during the vegetative stage, both microplastics decreased the number of fruits and, in the case of PVC, also their fresh weights. The plastic polymer-induced decline in fruit production was coupled with wide variations in fruit ionome, with marked increases in Ni and Cd. By contrast there was a decline in the nutritionally valuable lycopene, total soluble solids, and total phenols. Altogether, our results reveal that microplastics can not only limit crop productivity but also negatively impact fruit quality and enhance the concentration of food safety hazards, thus raising concerns for their potential health risks for humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Dainelli
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Sara Pignattelli
- CNR-Institute of Bioscience and Bioresources, via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Nadia Bazihizina
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Sara Falsini
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Alessio Papini
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Ivan Baccelli
- CNR-Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Stefano Mancuso
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via delle Idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Fondazione per il Futuro delle Città, Via Boccaccio 50, 50133 Firenze, Italy
| | - Andrea Coppi
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | | | - Ilaria Colzi
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Cristina Gonnelli
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
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4
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Colzi I, Gonnelli C, Vergata C, Golia G, Coppi A, Castellani MB, Giovino A, Buti M, Sabato T, Capuana M, Aprile A, De Bellis L, Cicatelli A, Guarino F, Castiglione S, Ioannou AG, Fotopoulos V, Martinelli F. Transgenerational effects of chromium stress at the phenotypic and molecular level in Arabidopsis thaliana. J Hazard Mater 2023; 442:130092. [PMID: 36303345 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we describe the results obtained in a study of the transgenerational phenotypic effects of chromium (Cr) stress on the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. The F1 generation derived from parents grown under chronic and medium chronic stress showed significantly higher levels of the maximal effective concentration (EC50) compared with F1 plants generated from unstressed parents. Moreover, F1 plants from Cr-stressed parents showed a higher germination rate when grown in the presence of Cr. F1 plants derived from parents cultivated under chronic Cr stress displayed reduced hydrogen peroxide levels under Cr stress compared to controls. At lower Cr stress levels, F1 plants were observed to activate promptly more genes involved in Cr stress responses than F0 plants, implying a memory effect linked to transgenerational priming. At higher Cr levels, and at later stages, F1 plants modulated significantly fewer genes than F0 plants, implying a memory effect leading to Cr stress adaptation. Several bHLH transcription factors were induced by Cr stress in F1 but not in F0 plants, including bHLH100, ORG2 and ORG3. F1 plants optimized gene expression towards pathways linked to iron starvation response. A model of the transcriptional regulation of transgenerational memory to Cr stress is presented here, and could be applied for other heavy metal stresses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Colzi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy.
| | | | | | | | - Andrea Coppi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy.
| | | | - Antonio Giovino
- CREA Consiglio per la ricerca in Agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria, Centro di Ricerca Difesa e Certificazione, Bagheria, Italy.
| | - Matteo Buti
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
| | | | - Maurizio Capuana
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council, Italy.
| | - Alessio Aprile
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
| | - Luigi De Bellis
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
| | - Angela Cicatelli
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Salerno, Italy.
| | | | | | - Andreas G Ioannou
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, 3603 Lemesos, Cyprus.
| | - Vasileios Fotopoulos
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, 3603 Lemesos, Cyprus.
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Coppi A, Colzi I, Lastrucci L, Castellani MB, Gonnelli C. Improving plant-based genotoxicity bioassay through AFLP technique for trace metal-contaminated water: insights from Myriophyllum aquaticum (Vell.) Verdc. and Cd. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2022; 29:52752-52760. [PMID: 35266104 PMCID: PMC9343317 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19429-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we evaluated whether the species Myriophyllum aquaticum (Vell.) Verdc. can be a promising material for devising reliable eco-toxicological tests for Cd-contaminated waters. Plants of M. aquaticum were exposed to Cd, using different concentrations (1 mg L-1, 2.5 mg L-1, 5 mg L-1, and 10 mg L-1; experiment 1) and exposure times (2.5 mg L-1 for 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, and 21 days; experiment 2). Plant growth and Cd accumulation were monitored during the treatment period, and Cd genotoxicity was assessed by analyzing Cd-induced changes in the AFLP fingerprinting profiles using famEcoRI(TAC)/MseI(ATG) and hexEcoRI(ACG)/MseI(ATG) pairs of primers. Root and shoot growth was reduced already at the lowest Cd concentration used (about 20% reduction for roots and 60% for shoots at 1 mg L-1; experiment 1) and after 7 days (about 50% reduction for roots and 70% for shoots; experiment 2). The primer combinations produced 154 and 191 polymorphic loci for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Mean genetic diversity (He) reduction among the treatment groups was observed starting from 2.5 mg L-1 (He 0.211 treated vs 0.236 control; experiment 1) and after 3 days (He 0.169 treated vs 0.261 control; experiment 2), indicating that results obtained from AFLP profiles did not match with plant growth measurements. Therefore, our results showed that M. aquaticum proved to be a suitable model system for the investigation of Cd genotoxicity through AFLP fingerprinting profile, whereas the more classic eco-toxicological tests based only on biometric parameters could not correctly estimate the risk associated with undetected Cd genotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Coppi
- Department of Biology, Università Degli Studi Di Firenze, via Micheli 1, Florence, 50121 Italy
| | - Ilaria Colzi
- Department of Biology, Università Degli Studi Di Firenze, via Micheli 1, Florence, 50121 Italy
| | - Lorenzo Lastrucci
- University Museum System, Natural History Museum, Botany, via La Pira 4, Florence, 50121 Italy
| | | | - Cristina Gonnelli
- Department of Biology, Università Degli Studi Di Firenze, via Micheli 1, Florence, 50121 Italy
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Colzi I, Renna L, Bianchi E, Castellani MB, Coppi A, Pignattelli S, Loppi S, Gonnelli C. Impact of microplastics on growth, photosynthesis and essential elements in Cucurbita pepo L. J Hazard Mater 2022; 423:127238. [PMID: 34844356 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In this study, Cucurbita pepo L., one of the most cultivated, consumed and economically important crop worldwide, was used as model plant to test the toxic effects of the four most abundant microplastics identified in contaminated soils, i.e. polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyvinylchloride (PVC), and polyethyleneterephthalate (PET). Cucurbita plants were grown in pots with increasing concentrations of the microplastics, then plant biometry, photosynthetic parameters and ionome of treated vs. untreated samples were compared to evaluate the toxicity of each plastic. All the pollutants impaired root and, especially, shoot growth. Specific and concentration-dependant effects of the different microplastics were found, including reduction in leaf size, chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficiency, as well as changes in the micro- and macro-elemental profile. Among all the microplastics, PVC was identified as the most toxic and PE as the less toxic material. PVC decreased the dimensions of the leaf lamina, the values of the photosynthetic performance index and the plant iron concentration to a higher extent in respect to the other treatments. Microplastic toxicity exerted on the growth of C. pepo raises concerns about possible yield and economic loss, as well as for risks of a possible transfer into the food chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Colzi
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Luciana Renna
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy; Department of Agriculture, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale delle Idee 30, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy.
| | - Elisabetta Bianchi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via Mattioli 3, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Coppi
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Sara Pignattelli
- Laboratory of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska cesta 13, SI-5000, Rožna Dolina, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
| | - Stefano Loppi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via Mattioli 3, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Cristina Gonnelli
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Micheli 1, 50121 Florence, Italy
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