{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T10:19:12Z","timestamp":1787566752988,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]],"date-time":"2026-08-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787443200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Zhengzhou University Environmental Technology Consulting Engineering Co., Ltd.","award":["HX20250167"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HX20250167"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nanomaterials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The co-occurrence of microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals in agricultural ecosystems poses emerging threats, yet their combined ecotoxicological effects on crop plants remain poorly understood. To address this gap, a hydroponic exposure experiment was conducted to evaluate the individual and combined effects of 50 mg\u00b7L\u22121 polystyrene (PS) microplastics, lead (Pb, 35 mg\u00b7L\u22121), and cadmium (Cd, 20 mg\u00b7L\u22121) on the phenotypic growth, biomass accumulation, and peroxidase (POD) activity of rice seedlings. The results indicated that: (1) Individual polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) treatment did not induce morphological inhibition; rather, it exhibited a growth-promoting trend, with a significant increase in fresh weight and a non-significant increasing trend in dry weight compared to the control. (2) The phenotypic impact of PS-MPs on the toxicity of heavy metals was element-specific. In the PS + Cd co-exposure system, microplastics significantly alleviated Cd-induced inhibition of fresh weight relative to the single Cd treatment, although this recovery effect was not observed in dry weight. Conversely, in the PS + Pb system, microplastics aggravated the phenotypic toxicity of Pb, with biomass showing a numerical decrease relative to the single Pb treatment, though the difference did not reach statistical significance. (3) The plant antioxidant system exhibited organ-specific responses to the combined stresses. Under PS + Pb co-exposure, root POD activity was significantly up-regulated while shoot POD activity was notably suppressed, revealing an asynchrony in physiological responses between roots and shoots. In contrast, the decrease in root POD activity under the PS + Cd system was consistent with phenotypic recovery in fresh weight. In conclusion, PS-MPs can significantly alter the phenotypic and physiological responses of rice seedlings to heavy metals, with the direction of modulation being element-specific. While the underlying mechanisms require further elucidation, this study provides a phenotypic and physiological basis for assessing the early ecological risks associated with the co-exposure of microplastics and heavy metals.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nano16171050","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T08:03:41Z","timestamp":1787558621000},"page":"1050","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Phenotypic and Physiological Responses of Rice Seedlings to Co-Exposure of Polystyrene Microplastics and Heavy Metals"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Ziwen","family":"Hao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Miami College, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaolu","family":"Bie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Miami College, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pu","family":"Niu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Marxism, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3441-8515","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lin","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographical Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1128","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envpol.2018.04.147","article-title":"Microplastic and Soil Protists: A Call for Research","volume":"241","author":"Rillig","year":"2018","journal-title":"Environ. 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