Polystyrene nanoplastics affect seed germination, cell biology and physiology of rice seedlings in-short term treatments: evidence of their internalization and translocation

Agroecosystems represent more and more a huge long-term sink for plastic compounds which inevitably undergo fragmentation, generating micro- and nano-plastics, with potential adverse effects on soil chemistry and living organisms. The present work was focused on the short-term effects of two different concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) (0.1 or 1 g L−1 suspensions) on rice seedlings starting from seed germination, hypothesizing that possible acute effects on seedlings could depend on oxidative damage trigged by PSNPs internalization. As shown by TEM analysis, PSNPs were absorbed by roots and translocated to the shoots, affected root cell ultrastructure, the germination process, seedling growth and root mitotic activity, inducing cytogenetic aberration. Treatments were not correlated with increase in oxidative stress markers, but rather with a different pattern of their localization both in roots and in shoots, impairing H2O2 homeostasis and membrane damage, despite the adequate antioxidant response recorded. The harmful effects of PSNPs on cell biology and physiology of rice seedlings could be caused not only by a direct action by the PSNPs but also by changes in the production/diffusion of ROS at the tissue/cellular level.