Growth, anatomy and enzyme activity changes in maize roots induced by treatment of seeds with low-temperature plasma

Abstract

Abstract:The seeds of Zea mays L. cv. KWS were exposed to low-temperature plasma (LTP) by using Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge (DCSBD) for 60 and 120 seconds respectively. Growth parameters, anatomy of roots and activity of some enzymes (CAT, G-POX, SOD and DHO) isolated from roots grown from the seeds treated by LTP were evaluated. Our results indicate that LTP treatment of maize seeds affects post-germination growth of seedlings and this effect depends on the duration of LTP treatment. LTP treatment in duration of 60 seconds significantly increased the length, fresh and dry weight of the roots. However, the increase in time of LTP treatment to 120 seconds had inhibitive effect on the studied growth parameters. The activities of all studied antioxidant enzymes significantly increased with the age of maize seedlings in control conditions. On the other hand the application of LTP resulted in small, mostly non significant changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Significant decrease in CAT activity was observed both in 3 and 6-day old maize roots and G-POX activity in 3-day old maize roots grown from seeds exposed to LTP for 60 seconds. A small, significant increase was detected only in SOD activity in 3-day old maize roots grown from seeds treated with LTP for 120 seconds and in 6-day old maize roots treated with LTP for 60 seconds. Significantly higher DHO activity was determined in embryos isolated from seeds treated with LTP for 60 seconds. On the contrary, in roots the DHO activity decreased with the time of LTP treatment. LTP treatment of seeds did not affect the anatomy of maize roots and caused only minor changes in the isoenzyme composition of G-POX and SOD.

Amelioration of Photosynthesis and Quality of Wheat under Non-thermal Radio Frequency Plasma Treatment

“…It was shown that the activity of peroxidase and catalase enzymes slightly increased following plasma treatment 22 . It is also reported that seed treated by plasma significantly increased the superoxide dismutase activity in maize 14 . Similar result was obtained for tomato 23 .…”

“…At 180 s, absorption level of PAR was increased by 30% compared with the control (Table 6) which in turn increased photosynthesis rate and yield. Other researchers have also focused on the effects of plasma enhanced chlorophyll 14,17 .…”

“…The cold plasma treatment is thought to be a fast, economic and pollution-free method to improve seed performance, plant growth and ultimately plant production 8,9 . This treatment plays a crucial role in a broad spectrum of plant development and physiological processes in plants, including the promotion of seed germination and seedling growth 10,11 , activation of photosynthesis 12,13 , and regulation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism 14,15 . In safflower, compared with the control, there was significant increase in germination rate (50%) and reduced germination time by 24 hours 8 .…”

Energy Efficiency of Planar Discharge for Industrial Applications

“…1 mm. DCSBD has been used with positive results for treating of non-woven textiles [9], wood [10], silicon wafers [11], various foils and fibers [12][13][14], glass [7], metals [8] and bio-materials [15]. In the work presented here, the energy efficiency of DCSBD was estimated in order to improve the electrical circuit parameters of the DCSBD device, if necessary.…”

Application of Oxygen-argon Plasma as a Potential Approach of Improving the Nutrition Value of Pre-germinated Brown Rice

“…When a seed is treated with plasma, the plasma energy and active particles apparently transfer and penetrate through the seed coat because of the plasma's ability to penetrate through porous materials [20]. The interaction of cells with plasma might stimulate growth, alter protein structure, enhance enzymatic activities [21,22], thereby producing more functional metabolites. Plasma technology was also reported to increase the concentration of free radicals in seeds that play an important role in acceleration of seed metabolism [23].…”