Nanotechnology in agriculture: Current status, challenges and future opportunities

Aerobic granular sludge technology: Mechanisms of granulation and biotechnological applications

The missing nitrogen pieces: A critical review on the distribution, transformation, and budget of nitrogen in the vadose zone-groundwater system.

Nanoplastics display strong stability in aqueous environments: Insights from aggregation behaviour and theoretical calculations.

Highly efficient nitrate removal in a heterotrophic denitrification system amended with redox-active biochar: A molecular and electrochemical mechanism

Impacts of chlorothalonil on denitrification and N2O emission in riparian sediments: Microbial metabolism mechanism.

Nanosized plastics (nanoplastics) releasing into the wastewater may pose a potential threat to biological nitrogen removal. Constructed wetland (CW), a wastewater treatment or shore buffer system, is an important sink of nanoplastics, while it is unclear how nitrogen removal in CWs occurs in response to nanoplastics. Here, we investigated the effects of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics (0, 10, and 1000 μg/L) on nitrogen removal for 180 days in CWs. The results revealed that total nitrogen removal efficiency decreased by 29.5-40.6%. We found that PS penetrated the cell membrane and destroyed both membrane integrity and reactive oxygen species balance. Furthermore, PS inhibited microbial activity in vivo, including enzyme (ammonia monooxygenase, nitrate reductase, and nitrite reductase) activities and electron transport system activity (ETSA). These adverse effects, accompanied by a decline in the relative abundance of nitrifiers (e.g., Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira) and denitrifiers (e.g., Thauera and Zoogloea), directly accounted for the strong deterioration observed in nitrogen removal. The decline in leaf and root activities decreased nitrogen uptake by plants, which is an important factor of deterioration in nitrogen removal. Overall, our results imply that the presence of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment is a hidden danger to the global nitrogen cycle and should receive more attention.

Nanoplastics Disturb Nitrogen Removal in Constructed Wetlands: Responses of Microbes and Macrophytes.

Metagenomic analysis of the biotoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles to microbial nitrogen transformation in constructed wetlands.

Impact of biochar on greenhouse gas emissions from constructed wetlands under various influent chemical oxygen demand to nitrogen ratios.

Copper oxide nanoparticles inhibited denitrifying enzymes and electron transport system activities to influence soil denitrification and N2O emission

Xiangyu Yang

Papers

Impacts of chlorothalonil on denitrification and N2O emission in riparian sediments: Microbial metabolism mechanism.

Nanoplastics Disturb Nitrogen Removal in Constructed Wetlands: Responses of Microbes and Macrophytes.

Metagenomic analysis of the biotoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles to microbial nitrogen transformation in constructed wetlands.

Impact of biochar on greenhouse gas emissions from constructed wetlands under various influent chemical oxygen demand to nitrogen ratios.

Copper oxide nanoparticles inhibited denitrifying enzymes and electron transport system activities to influence soil denitrification and N2O emission