BACKGROUND:The accumulation of nano-plastics in terrestrial environments raises urgent concerns for crop safety, but little is known about their bioavailability and impact in perennial plants like tea (Camellia sinensis L.). This study investigated the uptake and physiological effects of 80 nm polystyrene nano-plastics (PS-NPs) in hydroponically grown tea seedlings. RESULT:Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) visualized PS-NPs in root cortices and leaf tissues, confirming systemic translocation. Exposure to PS-NPs (10-100 mg L-1) for durations of 1, 3 and 7 days triggered concentration-dependent oxidative stress and defense responses: root catalase (CAT) activity was initially suppressed by 69.7% (50 mg L-1) but later induced 15-fold, while leaf glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was significantly inhibited. Notably, theanine content in leaves increased by 77.6% at 10 mg L-1 but decreased by 70.1% at 100 mg L-1. CONCLUSION:The findings demonstrate PS-NPs uptake and their impact on tea seedling physiology and quality-related metabolites, underscoring potential risks to perennial crops. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Water resources are increasingly contaminated by industrial and agricultural pollutants, with pesticide residues posing a persistent challenge. Most existing methods were designed for a single purpose of either measuring or eliminating water pollutants, while integrated strategies containing both functions remain scarce. Here we reported a novel semi-automatic silicone rubber (SR) based multi-vial microextraction technique for the simultaneous determination and removal of fifteen pesticides from aqueous matrices. An integrated adsorption-desorption platform enabled effective in-situ extraction of the target pesticides via hydrophobic effects. Key parameters including ultrasonication extraction for 45 min and two sequential 5-min desorption with 5 mL of hexane/ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v) were employed. The quantitative analysis was validated in real waters of the Nanfei River, Chao Lake, and tap water with good recoveries (72.8-112.6 %) and relative standard deviations (0.1-7.5 %), superior limits of detection (0.0020-0.20 μg/L) and quantification (0.006 to 0.50 µg/L), and free matrix effects (87.5-102.1 %) by gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector. Focusing on its selectivity and recyclability, the proposed approach was further applied to purifying green tea and chrysanthmum tea infusions, achieving over 90 % removal efficiency for most pesticides. These results demonstrated that the semi-automatic SR-based multi-vial microextraction is a robust and effective method for both quantifying and eliminating target pesticides from waters and tea infusions. The high throughput and low cost encourage its potential for customized commercial application in monitoring and remediating emerging pesticides in environment and food fields.

Fenpyrazone is a hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD)-inhibiting herbicide registered in China in 2020, while its aquatic environmental fate remains unclear. This study provides the first investigation of its degradation characteristics, products, and ecological risks in water. Results indicate that the degradation of fenpyrazone in aquatic environments is influenced by temperature, pH, and ionic conditions. Photolysis under neutral conditions was 193 times faster than hydrolysis, indicating photosensitivity. Five new metabolites, M440, M156, M140, M96 and M82 were identified, primarily formed via hydrolysis, decarboxylation, demethylation, and hydroxylation. In the photolysis process, ·OH, ·O2-, and 1O2 play key roles. Two key reactive sites are identified, the carboxylic ester bond for hydrolysis and the 1,3-dimethylpyrazole ring for photooxidation. Toxicity assessment revealed that metabolite M440 exhibited higher toxicity than the parent compound. Furthermore, most products were predicted to pose significantly higher chronic toxicity risks, highlighting long-term environmental hazards and providing critical data for ecological risk assessment.

Fungicide residues can interact with microplastics (MPs) in the aquatic environment leading to mixed toxicity on phytoplankton. The investigation of biological effects obtained from combined fungicide and MPs is essential for proper evaluation of the ecological risks. Until now, the mechanisms that how polyethylene (PE) MPs altered the toxicity of picoxystrobin and azoxystrobin on microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus was unknown. Here, the impacts of PE-MPs on freely dissolved concentrations (Cfree) of the 2 fungicides and their toxicity to microalgae growth were assessed after 96 h exposure. We found that the presence of PE-MPs reduced the bioaccumulation of picoxystrobin and azoxystrobin in microalgae through decreasing the fungicide Cfree. Furthermore, inhibition effects on microalgae growth and chlorophyll generation was alleviated significantly in the combination of fungicide and PE-MPs compared with the fungicide alone. Specifically, 400 mg/L of 25 μm PE induced more profound influences than other treatments in terms of decreasing Cfree, promoting growth rate, and increasing chlorophyll content that might be attributed to its higher adsorption capacity for the fungicides. Our results demonstrated the antagonism between the fungicides and PE-MPs, clarifying that PE-MPs functioned in lowering the bioavailability and acte toxicity of the 2 strobilurin fungcides to microalgae via physical adsorption especially under the small size and high level of PE-MPs. This study provides evidences that the existence of MPs is capable of influencing the toxicological behavior of fungicides in the environment, and can be a starting point for more sophisticated mechanism investigation of joint toxicity for fungicides and MPs.

BACKGROUND:Phytohormones regulate plant growth, development, and stress responses. Strigolactones are a class of phytohormones that have attracted significant scientific interest because of their multifunctional roles in plant biology and ecological interactions. RESULTS:In this study, 34 strigolactone mimics were efficiently synthesized by substituting pre-synthesized 5-chloro-3-methylfuran-2(5H)-one with phenolics and benzenethiols. Most of the chemicals showed seed germination-promoting activities on corn, sorghum, soybean, and sunflower seeds. At a concentration of 100 mg/L, 3 s and 4 h showed a promotion rate of 56% and 63% on corn bud growth and 50% and 62% on sorghum root growth, respectively. The promotion rates of 3 s and 4 h on corn, sorghum, soybean, and sunflower root growth ranged between 35-48% and 46-71%, respectively. The effect on germination of the target compound exhibited a dose-dependent trend, increasing within the range of 0.01-10 mg/L and decreasing within the range of 10-100 mg/L. Optimal promotion rates for corn root and shoot growth at 3 s and 4 h were achieved at a concentration of 10 mg/L. 3 s and 4 h regulated the content of the abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin to promote plant germination. The binding energy of GR24 docking with strigolactone receptor proteins derived from Arabidopsis (AtD14) was -7.30 kcal/mol, while 3 s and 4 h were -7.96 and -8.05 kcal/mol, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:The structure-activity relationships of 34 novel strigolactone mimics and docking simulations provided structural optimization strategies for designing new strigolactone mimics as plant growth regulators. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Neonicotinoid insecticides residuals pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Imidaclothiz, as a novel neonicotinoid pesticide, the metabolic mechanisms in aquatic environments was unclear. This study investigated the degradation characteristics of imidaclothiz in both pure and actual water, and analyzed the photodegradation and hydrolysis metabolites of imidaclothiz in aquatic environments and assessed their toxicity. The hydrolysis of imidaclothiz was not affected by temperature, pH, and metal ions. In non-sterilized Tai Lake water, the half-life of imidaclothiz were 72-187 d, with biodegradation being the primary process. Additionally, lighting was the key factor to influencing the degradation of imidaclothiz in aquatic environment. Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) results indicated that 1O2 and ·OH played crucial roles in the photodegradation of imidaclothiz. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the maximum electrostatic potential of the imidaclothiz molecule was located at the electron-donating group (-NH-) on the oxadiazole ring, making it more prone to oxidation reactions. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was employed to identify the photolysis and hydrolysis products of imidaclothiz. Toxicity assessment revealed that the oxidized metabolite M217 of imidaclothiz exhibited higher toxicity to aquatic organisms than the parent compound. Meanwhile, both imidaclothiz and its photodegradation and hydrolysis products posed noteworthy chronic toxicity to fish, daphnid and green algae. These finding provided theoretical guidance for the risk assessment and safe use of imidaclothiz.

Carbamates, organophosphates, pyrethroids, and other ester bond-containing insecticides are widely present in agricultural fields and aquatic environments, posing residue risks and threatening human health. Microbial degradation represents the primary metabolic pathway for these insecticides, yet it often generates highly toxic metabolites. In this study, we isolated a high-efficiency indoxacarb-degrading strain, Priestia aryabhattai DPX-1, which can metabolize 68 % of 5 mg/L indoxacarb within 24 h without producing the high-toxicity N-decarbomethoxylated metabolite (DCJW). High-resolution mass spectrometry identified a novel metabolite M513, exhibiting 1-2 orders of magnitude lower acute and chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms compared to indoxacarb. The discovery of M513 reveals a new indoxacarb metabolic pathway. Concurrently, through omics analysis, we identified a novel indoxacarb-degrading key gene yvaK in strain DPX-1, encoding a carboxylesterase. The structure of enzyme YvaK was deconstructed via the AlphaFold2 AI model. Domain analysis revealed that YvaK contains a conserved nucleophilic elbow domain composed of 91Gly-92Leu-93Ser-94Leu-95Gly and an oxyanion hole domain formed by 95Gly-96Gly. Molecular docking and site-directed mutagenesis further elucidated the catalytic mechanism. Indoxacarb could stably bind to the carboxylesterase YvaK through hydrogen bonding, further enters the catalytic center via a hydrophobic channel, and ultimately hydrolysis under nucleophile attack to generate M513. These findings provide novel and safer strategies and methodologies for the bioremediation of ester bond-containing insecticides.

Chlorothalonil (CTL) is a well-known water contaminant and has high toxicity to aquatic species and amphibians. Sodium lignosulfonate (SL) as an inexpensive surfactant is renewable, biodegradable, and environmentally benign. Effects of SL on photodegradation of CTL were studied under different light. SL enhanced the photodegradation rate of CTL by 14, 18, 7.4, and 18.5 fold under a high-pressure mercury lamp (HPML), an UV lamp, a xenon lamp, and sunlight, respectively, compared to the SL-free control. The mechanism of SL-enhanced CTL degradation was revealed as a reductive dechlorination reaction by radical scavenging activity and electron donation of SL. Further experiments evidenced that the photoreductive capacity of SL generated electrons to reduce generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and singlet oxygen (1O2) under irradiation and promoted dechlorination of CTL̇. The results are helpful to understand the effects of SL on phototransformation and the high potential of using SL as a catalyst to abate chloroarenes pollution.

Dichlorvos (DDVP) has been used in the management of agricultural pests for a long time. DDVP can cause DNA damage in mammals, and its residues in the environment and food have attracted attention. In this study, we reported a DDVP-degrading strain, Stenotrophomonas acidaminiphila G1, which could degrade DDVP to 20 mg/L with a DT50 of 3.81 min at 37 °C, a pH of 7.0, and a concentration of 1.18 × 1010 colony-forming units (CFUs)/mL. Strain G1's DDVP degradation products were determined by comparison with standard substances and UPLC-MS/MS analysis. The results showed that dimethyl phosphate (DMPP) was the main metabolite of DDVP, and its toxicity to non-target organisms was significantly lower than that of the parent compound. Furthermore, the key genes for the degradation of DDVP by strain G1 were analyzed using whole-genome sequencing. A methyl parathion hydrolase gene, mpd, was identified, and its activity was verified through prokaryotic expression and enzyme kinetics. The purified enzyme MPD could entirely degrade 20 mg/L DDVP within 1 min. These results not only provide biological resources for the rapid degradation of organophosphorus pesticides but also offer a theoretical basis for the efficient remediation of pesticide residues.

Hg2+-induced oxidative stress is an important pathway mediating biotoxicity, and the dynamics of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) is a key indicator for quantitatively assessing the level of oxidative stress. Herein, a novel "targeted dual recognition" NIR fluorescent chemosensor (DDPT) was constructed for the specific recognition of Hg2+ and ONOO-. The DDPT activated by Hg2+ for the detection of ONOO- exhibited rapid response (<50 s), high sensitivity (16.8 nM) and excellent selectivity. The P = S bond in DDPT is oxidized to P = O by Hg2+, followed by ONOO- the specific attack on the P-O bond to break it, releasing the DDPT-OH to generate a significant fluorescence enhancement (with a Stokes shift up to 188 nm). The response mechanism of DDPT was systematically verified by (HNMR)-H-1, HRMS and DFT theoretical calculations. Furthermore, DDPT was successfully evaluated for imaging Hg2+-induced ONOO- dynamics in cellular, zebrafish and mouse models due to its advantages of low cytotoxicity, high tissue permeability and biocompatibility. The results reveal that Hg2+ induces oxidative stress and increases ONOO- concentration to destroy the antioxidant defense system of organisms, thus triggering the toxic pathway of oxidative stress. The development of DDPT provides a basis for analyzing pollutant-oxidative stress interactions, assessing health risks, and developing targeted intervention strategies.

As a typical chiral organophosphate insecticide, the enantiomer of profenofos exhibits significant bioselective toxicity in the environment. This study investigates the enantioselective effects of chiral profenofos and 2-Bromo-4-chlorophenol on BSA. Multispectral analysis confirmed that S/R-profenofos and 2-Bromo-4-chlorophenol alterd the microenvironment of BSA, decreasing the α-helices content from 53.6 % to 52.9 %, 53.0 %, and 52.8 %. The binding constants Ka for the interaction of S/R-profenofos and 2-Bromo-4-chlorophenol with BSA were 4.70, 4.66 and 4.23 × 104 M-1, respectively. The LC50 of S/R-profenofos and 2-Bromo-4-chlorophenol for zebrafish were about 0.670, 0.739 and 0.954 mg/L, while the acetylcholinesterase inhibition rate were 86.64 %, 81.21 % and 73.64 %, respectively. The toxicity levels follows the pattern of S-profenofos>R-profenofos>2-Bromo-4-chlorophenol, which was also confirmed by the molecular docking and cell experiments. This study evaluated the interaction mechanism between chiral pesticides and model proteins at the molecular level, providing a new perspective on the food safety risk of chiral pesticides.

This study investigated the photocatalytic degradation of chlorothalonil under a range of ultraviolet lamp configurations, and studied the improvement in the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of a reflective material (silver-white aluminium foil). Increasing the number of UV lamps significantly enhanced degradation efficiency, reducing the half-life from 29.95 min with one lamp to 8.15 min with four in a 20 cm enamel bucket. The use of silvery-white aluminium foil further decreased the half-life to 3.86 min, improving degradation rates by up to 262.9%. In larger containers, degradation efficiency increased by up to 414.7% with aluminium foil. Comparisons with black aluminium foil confirmed that silver-white aluminium foil enhanced degradation by reflecting and redistributing UV light, increasing intensity by 252% and reducing the CTL half-life from 150.36 min to 22.9 min in a controlled light box. Further tests confirmed that silver-white aluminium foil amplified UV irradiation, increasing degradation efficiency by up to 555.1%. These improvements might suggest that aluminium foil enhances UV utilisation through direct reflection, refraction, and diffuse reflection, effectively redirecting photons that would otherwise escape the system. Experiments with natural water sources showed similar trends, with half-lives of 55.23 min in ultrapure water, 12.63 min in pond water, and 16.36 min in paddy field water. The addition of silver-white aluminium foil further reduced these times to 23.92 min, 7.13 min, and 12.34 min, respectively. These findings demonstrate that silvery-white aluminium foil significantly enhances CTL photodegradation without increasing energy consumption. While effective, the method faces challenges in acidic or alkaline wastewater due to potential corrosion of system components. Future research should focus on identifying stable, high-reflectivity materials for long-term applications. This study offers practical insights into the optimisation of photodegradation processes, which contributes to improved water treatment strategies and environmental pollution mitigation.

As highly toxic varieties of organophosphorus insecticides are gradually banned in some countries, medium and low toxicity varieties such as xiaochongthion (XCT) have become substitutes. However, the synergistic toxicity of XCT and its main hydrolysis product 2,4-dichloro-6-nitrophenol (DCNP) for non-target organisms has attracted attention. In this study, we reported a XCT and DCNP degrading strain, Cupriavidus nantongensis X1. Strain X1 could remove 95.29 % of 10 mg/L XCT within 12 h and further degrade DCNP. Two novel metabolites (M187 and M160) were detected and identified via high-resolution mass spectrometry. The structure of two metabolites showed that DCNP could be degraded through a stepwise oxidative dechlorination and denitrification pathway. Meanwhile, the acute and chronic toxicity of metabolites M187 and M160 to aquatic organisms was significantly lower than that of XCT and DCNP. Indicating that the degradation of XCT by strain X1 was a detoxification process. Genomic analysis and enzyme kinetics identified fedA and tcpA were the key genes for strain X1 to degrade XCT and DCNP, respectively. Furthermore, homology modelling and molecular docking were used to determine the catalytic mechanism of TcpA for the dehalogenation and detoxification of DCNP. This study provides a strain resource and a theoretical basis for the efficient and harmless remediation of XCT and its hydrolysis product DCNP residuals.

Profenofos insecticide poses risks to nontarget organisms including mammals and hydrobionts, and its effects on crops are not known. This study examined the invisible toxicity of profenofos on pakchoi (Brassica rapa L.), using transcriptome and metabolome analyses. Profenofos inhibited the photosynthetic efficiency and light energy absorption by leaves and severely damaged the chloroplasts, causing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Metabolomic analysis confirmed that profenofos promoted the conversion of beta-carotene into abscisic acid (ABA), as evidenced by the upregulation of the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway genes: zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZEP), 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED3), and xanthoxin dehydrogenase (XanDH). The inhibitory effects on carotenoid accumulation, photosynthesis, and increased ABA and ROS contents of the leaves led to invisible injury and stunted growth of the pakchoi plants. The findings of this study revealed the toxicological risk of profenofos to nontarget crops and provide guidance for the safe use of insecticides.

Profenofos is a detectable insecticide in the environment with strong toxicity to non-targeted organisms. Photodegradation is a main transformation of profenofos in the environment. Myricetin is a flavonoid that strongly scavenges free radicals. The effect of myricetin on the photodegradation of profenofos was studied. The half-lives (T1/2) of profenofos were 1.7–7.0 and 90 h under artificial light and sunlight. The photolysis rate of profenofos decreased by 1.87–4.72 and 7.62 times with the addition of 20 ratios of myricetin. Free radicals reacting with profenofos were •OH and 1O2, and the key free radical was •OH. Myricetin strongly scavenged •OH and 1O2 which rapidly reacted with profenofos. O-(2-Chlorophenyl)-O-ethyl-S-propyl phosphorothioate (M3) and O-(2-chlorophenyl)-O-ethyl phosphorothioate (M4) were major and new photoproducts of profenofos. According to the Ecological Structure Activity Relationships, photodegradation of profenofos was a detoxification process, but myricetin inhibited the photodegradation of profenofos and its photoproducts. These results highlight the implication of myricetin on the fate and potential risk of profenofos in the environment.

Excessive intake of benzaldehyde and its derivatives can cause irreversible damage to living organisms. Hence, benzaldehyde derivatives with different para-substitutions of push/pull electronic groups were chosen to investigate the effect of different substituent properties on the structure of human serum albumin (HSA). The binding constants, number of binding sites, major interaction forces, protein structural changes, and binding sites of benzaldehyde (BzH) and its derivatives (4-BzHD) with HSA in serum proteins were obtained based on multispectral and molecular docking techniques. The mechanism of BzH/4-BzHD interaction on HSA is mainly static quenching and is accompanied by the formation of a ground state complex. BzH/4-BzHD is bound to HSA in a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. The interaction forces for the binding of BzH/4-BzHD to HSA are mainly hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction, which are also accompanied by a small amount of electrostatic interactions. The effect of BzH/4-BzHD on HSA conformation follows: 4-Diethylaminobenzaldehyde (4-DBzH) > 4-Nitrobenzaldehyde (4-NBzH) > 4-Hydroxybenzaldehyde (4-HBzH) > 4-Acetaminobenzaldehyde (4-ABzH) > BzH, which means that the stronger push/pull electronic strength of the para-substituted benzaldehyde derivatives has a greater effect on HSA conformation. Furthermore, the concentration-lethality curves of different concentrations for BzH/4-BzHD on zebrafish verified above conclusion. This work provides a scientific basis for the risk assessment of benzaldehyde and its derivatives to the ecological environment and human health and for the environmental toxicological studies of benzaldehyde derivatives with different strengths of push/pull electron substitution.

Profenofos, as a typical chiral organophosphorus pesticide, can cause various environmental problems and even endanger human health when used in excess. The toxicity of chiral profenofos was investigated through multispectral analysis, molecular docking, and density functional theory (DFT), employing human serum albumin (HSA) as the model protein. Fluorescence titration and lifetime measurements demonstrated that the interaction between chiral profenofos and HSA involves static quenching. Chiral profenofos forms a 1:1 complex with HSA at site II (subdomain IIIA), primarily driven by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. Notably, the binding efficacy diminishes as temperature increases. Spectroscopic analyses confirm that chiral profenofos alters the microenvironment and structure of HSA, with the R-enantiomer exerting a greater impact than the S-enantiomer. Consequently, the toxicological implications of the R-profenofos is significantly more pronounced. Investigating the molecular-level toxic effects of chiral pesticides enhances the thoroughness of pesticide assessments, aids in understanding their distribution, metabolism, and associated risks, and facilitates the development of mitigation strategies.

The occurrence and ecological impacts of emerging fungicides in the environment has gained increasing attention. This study applied an in -jar passive sampling device based on silicone rubber (SR) film to measuring the freely dissolved concentration (Cfree) of 6 current -use fungicides as a critical index of bioavailability in water and soils. The kinetics parameters including SR -water, soil -water, and organic carbon -water partition coefficients and sampling rates of the target fungicides were first attained and characterized well with their physicochemical properties. The in situ and ex situ field deployment in Hefei City provided the assessment of contaminated levels for these fungicides in rivers and soils. The Cfree of triadimefon and azoxystrobin was estimated at 0.54 +/- 0.07-17.4 +/- 2.5 ng L-1 in Nanfei River and Chao Lake, while triadimefon was only found in Dongpu Reservoir water with Cfree below 0.66 +/- 0.04 ng L- 1. The results exhibited that the equilibrium duration of 7 d was suitable for water application but a longer interval of 14 d was recommended for soil sampling. This work demonstrated the advantages of the proposed strategy in terms of fast monitoring within 2 weeks and high sensitivity down to detection limits in 0.5-5 ng L-1. The in -jar passive sampling device can be extrapolated to the evaluation for a wide coverage of organic pollutants in water and soils.

As common pollutants, Cu2+ and glyphosate pose a serious threat to human health and the ecosystem. Herein, a fluorescent probe (E)-7-(diethylamino)-N'(4-(diethylamino)-2-hydroxybenzyl)-2-oxo-2H chromophore-3-carbazide (DDHC) was designed and synthesised for the sequential recognition of Cu2+ and glyphosate. DDHC has the advantages of a short synthesis path, easy-to-obtain raw materials, good anti-interference ability, and strong stability. The interaction of the DDHC-Cu2+ complexes with glyphosate allows the amino and carboxyl groups in glyphosate molecules to coordinate with Cu2+ strongly, competing for the Cu2+ in the DDHC-Cu2+ complexes and releasing the DDHC, leading to the recovery of fluorescence. The recognition was further validated through Job’s plot, HRMS, and DFT calculations. In addition, the successful recovery of Cu2+ and glyphosate in different environmental water samples fully demonstrates the practical application potential of DDHC. Especially, DDHC has low cytotoxicity and can enter zebrafish and HeLa cells, rapidly reacting with Cu2+ and glyphosate in the body, generating visible fluorescence quenching and recovery phenomena, achieving real-time visual monitoring of exogenous Cu2+ and glyphosate in zebrafish and HeLa cells. The targeting and dual selectivity of DDHC greatly enhance its potential application value in the field of detection, providing important theoretical support for studying the fate of multiple pollutants in the environment.