Responses of submerged plant Vallisneria natans growth and leaf biofilms to water contaminated with microplastics

Abstract

Microplastics pose a serious threat to ecological processes and environmental health. To evaluate the toxic effects of the exposure of microplastics on submerged plants and biofilms, eel grass (Vallisneria natans) was exposed to different concentrations of microplastics (10–50 mg L−1). The changes in microbial community on leaf biofilms were also tested. The results showed that the ratio of variable fluorescence to maximum fluorescence was largely unchanged, but the contents of chlorophyll a and b increased by 56.5% and 23.0% respectively. Different concentrations of exposure to microplastics effectively induced antioxidant responses, such as increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase, as well as increasing the activity of glutathione S-transferase and the contents of glutathione and malondialdehyde. In addition, the leaf flesh cells of Vallisneria natans showed some degree of organelle damage when examined by transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, a high-throughput sequencing analysis showed that the abundances and structure of the microbial community on the leaf biofilms were altered by exposure to microplastics. These results demonstrated that environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics could disrupt homeostasis, induce effective defense mechanisms of Vallisneria natans and alter the biofilms in aquatic ecosystems.