Antibiotic‐induced effects on scaling relationships and on plant element contents in herbs and grasses

Abstract

Plant performance is correlated with element concentrations in plant tissue, which may be impacted by adverse chemical soil conditions. Antibiotics of veterinary origin can adversely affect plant performance. They are released to agricultural fields via grazing animals or manure, taken up by plants and may be stored, transformed or sequestered by plant metabolic processes. We studied the potential effects of three antibiotics (penicillin, sulfadiazine, and tetracycline) on plant element contents (macro‐ and microelements). Plant species included two herb species (Brassica napus and Capsella bursa‐pastoris) and two grass species (Triticum aestivum and Apera spica‐venti), representing two crop species and two noncrop species commonly found in field margins, respectively. Antibiotic concentrations were chosen as to reflect in vivo situations, that is, relatively low concentrations similar to those detected in soils. In a greenhouse experiment, plants were raised in soil spiked with antibiotics. After harvest, macro‐ and microelements in plant leaves, stems, and roots were determined (mg/g). Results indicate that antibiotics can affect element contents in plants. Penicillin exerted the greatest effect both on element contents and on scaling relationships of elements between plant organs. Roots responded strongest to antibiotics compared to stems and leaves. We conclude that antibiotics in the soil, even in low concentrations, lead to low‐element homeostasis, altering the scaling relationships between roots and other plant organs, which may affect metabolic processes and ultimately the performance of a plant.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Inhibition of Proliferation and Differentiation by Florfenicol in P19 Stem Cells: Transcriptome Analysis

“…The successful application of antimicrobials has significantly increased the production and use of antimicrobials ( Tiseo et al, 2020 ; Tian et al, 2021 ). Some intensively used antimicrobials interrupt mitochondrial proteostasis and physiology in animals ( Wang et al, 2015 ) and also impact plant chloroplasts in terrestrial and aquatic plants ( Carvalho et al, 2014 ; Minden et al, 2018 ); thus, they affect the ecosystems and biogeochemical processes ( Zhou et al, 2021 ). FLO is widely used in veterinary clinics and aquaculture.…”

“…Mitochondria and chloroplasts have bacterial-type ribosomes because they are evolved from endosymbiotic α-proteobacteria and cyanobacteria-like prokaryotes, respectively ( Ferrari et al, 2021 ); this condition makes these organelles vulnerable to ribosome-targeted antimicrobials ( Wang et al, 2015 ). Increasing numbers of studies show that some intensively used antimicrobials disturb mitochondrial proteostasis and physiology in animals ranging from worms, fruit flies, and mice to human cell lines ( Wang et al, 2015 ), and they also impact plant chloroplasts, inducing toxic effects on terrestrial and aquatic plants ( Carvalho et al, 2014 ; Minden et al, 2018 ).…”

Uptake of Pharmaceutical Pollutants and Their Metabolites from Soil Fertilized with Manure to Parsley Tissues

“…Moreover, both plants showed that the drug accumulated mainly in the roots and to a lesser extent in the green parts, confirming that these compounds were uptaken from the environment. Studies conducted on herbs and grasses treated with penicillin, sulfadiazine and tetracycline confirmed that the roots were most strongly affected by FCs compared to the steams and leaves [ 13 ]. Additionally, the presence of FCs in the soil disrupted homeostasis in the plant body, reduced the elemental content of the plant and led to salt stress.…”

Content of Carotenoids, Violaxanthin and Neoxanthin in Leaves of Triticum aestivum Exposed to Persistent Environmental Pollutants

“…Also, the effects of antibiotics vary from antibiotic to antibiotic and also vary by plant species. Minden et al indicated that antibiotics can affect element contents in plants [ 15 ]. Chen et al [ 16 ] showed that oxytetracycline exposure diminished the photosynthetic capacity of rape.…”