Metabolomics reveals the phytotoxicity mechanisms of foliar spinach exposed to bulk and nano sizes of PbCO3.

PbCO3 is an ancient raw material for Pb minerals and continues to pose potential risks to the environment and human health through mining and industrial processes. However, the specific effects of unintentional PbCO3 discharge on edible plants remain poorly understood. This study unravels how foliar application of PbCO3 induces phytotoxicity by potentially influencing leaf morphology, photosynthetic pigments, oxidative stress, and metabolic pathways related to energy regulation, cell damage, and antioxidant defense in Spinacia oleracea L. Additionally, it quantifies the resultant human health risks. Plants were foliarly exposed to PbCO3 nanoparticles (NPs) and bulk products (BPs), as well as Pb2+ at 0, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mg·L-1 concentrations once a day for three weeks. The presence and localization of PbCO3 NPs inside the plant cells were confirmed by TEM-EDS analysis. The maximum accumulation of total Pb was recorded in the root (2947.77 mg·kg-1 DW for ion exposure), followed by the shoot (942.50 mg·kg-1 DW for NPs exposure). The results revealed that PbCO3 and Pb2+ exposure had size- and dose-dependent inhibitory effects on spinach length, biomass, and photosynthesis attributes, inducing impacts on the antioxidase activity of CAT, membrane permeability, and nutrient elements absorption and translocation. Pb2+ exhibited pronounced toxicity in morphology and chlorophyll; PbCO3 BP exposure accumulated the most lipid peroxidation products of MDA and H2O2; and PbCO3 NPs triggered the largest cell membrane damage. Furthermore, PbCO3 NPs at 10 and 100 mg·L-1 induced dose-dependent metabolic reprogramming in spinach leaves, disturbing the metabolic mechanisms related to amino acids, antioxidant defense, oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid cycle, and the respiratory chain. The spinach showed a non-carcinogenic health risk hierarchy: Pb2+ > PbCO3 NPs > PbCO3 BPs, with children more vulnerable than adults. These findings enhance our understanding of PbCO3 particle effects on food security, emphasizing the need for further research to minimize their impact on human dietary health.

Transforming cerussite to pyromorphite by immobilising Pb(II) using hydroxyapatite and Pseudomonas rhodesiae.

Lead (Pb) pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems in recent decades. However, there are few remediation technologies for insoluble cerussite (PbCO3), which are common in the environment and have high bioavailability. In this study, the immobilisation of Pb(II) released from PbCO3 by Pseudomonas rhodesiae HP-7 isolated from Pb-contaminated soil was studied. The results showed that hydroxyapatite and PbCO3 were dissolved by the organic acids secreted by the HP-7 strain, and then the dissolved Pb2+ and H2PO4- reacted to form low bioavailable Pb5(PO4)3Cl precipitate. XRD and mass conservation calculations showed that 85.7% of PbCO3 was transformed to Pb5(PO4)3Cl when P:Pb was 9:5. Our research showed that the HP-7 strain and hydroxyapatite could reduce the bioavailability of Pb(II) in PbCO3, which could be used for the remediation of Pb-polluted environments.