We investigated the effect of nano‐ and microplastics on the freshwater duckweed species Spirodela polyrhiza, a vascular plant. S. polyrhiza was exposed for 120 h to concentrations ranging from 10² to 10⁶ particles·mL⁻¹. We assessed effects on growth and chlorophyll production, and explored adsorption and absorption by way of confocal microscopy. For both nano‐ and microsized particles, no concentration‐dependent effects on growth were found (expressed as fresh weight, frond, and root sizes). In addition, chlorophyll concentrations were not significantly affected. Confocal microscopy indicated that nanosized plastic particles adsorbed externally to the duckweed, especially to the roots. Internalized plastic particles could not be detected. Nevertheless, given their important role in ecosystems as a food source for a range of organisms, the adsorption of plastic particles to S. polyrhiza roots as detected in this study can result in the transfer of plastic particles to diverse herbivorous species within the ecosystem.

中文翻译：

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塑料颗粒吸附到淡水维管植物Spirodela polyrhiza的根部，但不损害其生长

我们研究了纳米塑料和微塑料对淡水浮萍物种Spirodela polyrhiza（一种维管植物）的影响。多菌链霉菌暴露于浓度为10 ²至10 ⁶颗粒·mL ^-1的120 h。我们评估了对生长和叶绿素产生的影响，并通过共聚焦显微镜探讨了吸附和吸收。对于纳米级和微米级颗粒，均未发现浓度对生长的影响（表示为鲜重，叶形和根大小）。此外，叶绿素浓度没有受到明显影响。共聚焦显微镜表明，纳米级塑料颗粒从外部浮萍，尤其是根部吸收。无法检测到内部化的塑料颗粒。然而，鉴于它们在生态系统中作为多种生物的食物来源所起的重要作用，如本研究中所检测到的那样，塑料颗粒对多毛链霉菌根的吸附可导致塑料颗粒向生态系统内的各种草食物种转移。