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Microplastics (MPs) can enter plants through the foliar pathway and are potential hazards to ecosystems and human health. However, studies related to the molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of foliar exposure to differently charged MPs to leafy vegetables are limited. Because the surfaces of MPs in the environment are often charged, we explored the uptake pathways, accumulation concentration of MPs, physiological responses, and molecular mechanisms of lettuce foliarly exposed to MPs carrying positive (MP+) and negative charges (MP–). MPs largely accumulated in the lettuce leaves, and stomatal uptake and cuticle entry could be the main pathways for MPs to get inside lettuce leaves. More MP+ entered lettuce leaves and induced physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic changes, including a decrease in biomass and photosynthetic pigments, an increase in reactive oxygen species and antioxidant activities, a differential expression of genes, and a change of metabolite profiles. In particular, MP+ caused the upregulation of circadian rhythm-related genes, and this may play a major role in the greater physiological toxicity of MP+ to lettuce, compared to MP–. These findings provide direct evidence that MPs can enter plant leaves following foliar exposure and a molecular-scale perspective on the response of leafy vegetables to differently charged MPs.

The obtained results indicated that biodiesel produced from prion-contaminated fat was safe under the tested process conditions. However, it has to be pointed out that the results cannot be generalized because a different process control using other conditions may lead to different results and then has to be analysed independently. It is clear that the production of biodiesel from high risk material represents a more economic usage than the combustion of such material.

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We have noticed that in our article published in the ESPR-March issue [Environ Sci Pollut Res 16(2):227−231 (2009)] the first name of the last author is wrong. "Andreas" Telscher has to be replaced by Markus Telscher.

Biofortification*with either the application of zinc and iron fertilizer or the application of amendments to increase their bioavailability in soil*is a possible strategy to tackle worldwide micronutrient malnutrition. We investigated the effect of hydrolysed wool on the uptake of zinc and iron by wheat (Triticum aestivum var. Greina). We performed pot experiments in which either hydrolysed wool or mineral fertilizer of the same elemental composition was incorporated into a loamy-sand collected from an agricultural field. Zinc grain concentrations were 37.7 mg kg(1 (control), 45.5 mg kg (1 (mineral fertilization) and 54.1 mg kg(1 (hydrolysed wool). In addition, hydrolysed wool application increased grain yield 2-fold and grain protein content 1.5-fold, compared with 1.4-fold and 1.3-fold, respectively, by the mineral fertilizer. We propose that hydrolysed wool could be used to supplement other fertilizers, enhancing the latter with an easily available N source as well as promoting zinc and iron uptake in plants.

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