Metabarcoding of prokaryotic 16S rRNA genes from soil aggregates in maize-planted silty and sandy loam soils exposed to microplastics.
The impact of microplastics on bacterial and archaeal communities in soil aggregates from maize-planted soils was investigated. In a controlled greenhouse pot experiment, Zea mays was grown in silty loam and sandy loam collected from agricultural land in Bavaria, Germany. The soils were amended with either conventional low-density polyethylene (LDPE) or biodegradable polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) microplastics (1% w/w, size range: 75-400 µm), along with unamended controls. The experiment was conducted over 14 weeks until the maize flowering stage. Soil aggregates were fractionated via wet sieving. DNA was extracted from the aggregates of three biological replicates per treatment. Unplanted control soils (without replication) were also included. Prokaryotic community composition was assessed via 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding using universal primers targeting the V4 region. Sequencing was performed on the Illumina iSeq platform.