Plant Physiological Responses and Rhizosphere Microecological Dynamics under Emerging Contaminant Stress

The rapid development of industrialization, urbanization, and modern agriculture has led to the widespread occurrence of emerging contaminants (ECs), such as microplastics, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and novel industrial chemicals, in terrestrial ecosystems. These contaminants are increasingly detected in agricultural soils and rhizosphere environments, where they may pose potential risks to plant growth, soil health, and food security. Unlike traditional pollutants, emerging contaminants often exhibit complex physicochemical properties, long-term persistence, and interactive effects with other stressors, which makes their ecological impacts difficult to predict.Plants and their associated rhizosphere microbiomes represent the first line of interaction with emerging contaminants in soil ecosystems. Exposure to ECs can trigger profound physiological responses in plants, including alterations in nutrient uptake, oxidative stress balance, photosynthesis, and metabolic pathways. Simultaneously, emerging contaminants can reshape rhizosphere microecological processes by modifying microbial community structure, functional potential, and plant–microbe interactions, ultimately influencing contaminant fate, bioavailability, and ecological risk.Despite growing attention, key knowledge gaps remain in understanding the mechanistic links between plant physiological responses and rhizosphere microecological dynamics under emerging contaminant stress. Integrated studies combining plant physiology, rhizosphere microbiology, biogeochemical processes, and molecular-level mechanisms are urgently needed to clarify plant–soil–microbe interactions in contaminated environments.This Research Topic aims to provide a platform to advance understanding of how emerging contaminants affect plant physiological processes and rhizosphere microecological functions, and how these responses collectively regulate ecosystem resilience and contaminant behavior.• Physiological and biochemical responses of plants to emerging contaminants, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, pesticides, and novel organic pollutants• Impacts of emerging contaminants on rhizosphere microbial community composition, functional traits, and ecological interactions• Plant–microbe interactions and rhizosphere processes mediating contaminant transformation, stabilization, or bioavailability• Molecular, metabolic, and omics-based insights into plant and microbial adaptation mechanisms under contaminant stress• Interactive effects of emerging contaminants with heavy metals, nutrients, or environmental stressors (e.g., drought, salinity)• Experimental studies under controlled conditions or field environments that elucidate mechanistic processes Topic editors: Guo Yu, Liheng Liu, Waqar Un Nisa, Habib Ullah Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77274/plant-physiological-responses-and-rhizosphere-microecological-dynamics-under-emerging-contaminant-stress