Summary
The turnover of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil regulated by biodegradable microplastics (MPs) has garnered much attention due to its profound impact on the storage and stability of soil organic matter. However, the transformation and reactivity of plant-derived and microbially derived DOM by microorganisms adapted to biodegradable MPs, and the involved microbial physiological processes, remain nearly unknown. Here, we added virgin and aged polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) to agricultural soils and incubated for 56 days. Using stable isotope techniques, reactomics, and metagenomics, we found that the addition of both virgin and aged PLA induced hydroxylation, demethylation, and dehydrogenation of lignin-derived DOM, resulting in a 3-fold increase in their oxidati
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