Phosphorylation-Mediated Regulatory Networks Fine-Tune Rye Responses to PVC Nanoplastic Stress: Evidence from Multiomics and Computational Biology

Abstract

Although polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics (NPs-PVC) are widespread emerging contaminants, their crop toxicity mechanisms─especially at the post-translational modification (PTM) level─remain unclear. Using multiscale exposures (short-term hydroponics and whole-life-cycle soil cultivation), integrated physiological, imaging, omics (transcriptomics and phosphoproteomics), molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations, we systematically evaluated NPs-PVC impacts on Secale cereale. Short-term exposure inhibited growth, reduced photosynthesis, and induced oxidative stress, with PVC stably binding cytochrome f and catalase. Long-term exposure decreased grain weight and tillers, accompanied by transcriptional shifts in metabolism and stress pathways. Phosphoproteomics revealed widespread phosphorylation changes in photosynthesis- and lipid metabolism-related proteins, with PVC-14-3-3λ binding confirmed by simulation. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that NPs-PVC regulates agronomic traits mainly through oxidative stress and photosynthesis disruption. Collectively, NPs-PVC suppresses rye growth via direct protein binding, transcriptional reprogramming, and PTM-mediated physiological tuning. This study advances the understanding of nanoplastic phytotoxicity mechanisms and agricultural ecological risk assessment.