Phyto-Courier, a Silicon Particle-Based Nano-biostimulant: Evidence from Cannabis sativa Exposed to Salinity

Abstract

Global warming and sea level rise are serious threats to agriculture. The negative effects caused by severe salinity include discoloration and reduced surface of the leaves, as well as wilting due to an impaired uptake of water from the soil by roots. Nanotechnology is emerging as a valuable ally in agriculture: several studies have indeed already proven the role of silicon nanoparticles in ameliorating the conditions of plants subjected to (a) biotic stressors. Here, we introduce the concept of phyto-courier: hydrolyzable nanoparticles of porous silicon, stabilized with the nonreducing saccharide trehalose and containing different combinations of lipids and/or amino acids, were used as vehicle for the delivery of the bioactive compound quercetin to the leaves of salt-stressed hemp (Cannabis sativa L., Santhica 27). Hemp was used as a representative model of an economically important crop with multiple uses. Quercetin is an antioxidant known to scavenge reactive oxygen species in cells. Four different silicon-based formulations were administered via spraying in order to investigate their ability to improve the plant’s stress response, thereby acting as nano-biostimulants. We show that two formulations proved to be effective at decreasing stress symptoms by modulating the amount of soluble sugars and the expression of genes that are markers of stress-response in hemp. The study proves the suitability of the phyto-courier technology for agricultural applications aimed at crop protection.

Regulation Mechanisms of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots in Enhanced Maize Photosynthesis under Drought Stress

“…10,11 For example, silicon ENMs could act as phytocouriers and nanobiostimulants to improve the accumulation of sucrose in plants by 2.8-fold under salinity stress. 12 Cerium oxide (CeO 2 ) ENMs could augment the ROS scavenging (salinity stress) of Arabidopsis and lead to improvements of 19% in the quantum yield of PSII, 67% in carbon assimilation rates, and 61% in Rubisco carboxylation rates relative to plants without nanoparticles. 13 Compared with the control, Arabidopsis exposed to CeO 2 ENMs showed significantly higher carbon assimilation rates (85%), quantum efficiency of photosystem II (9%), and chlorophyll content (14%) under salt stress.…”

“…Plant nanobiotechnology using engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) is a tool to study and engineer plant function, which has the potential to enhance the tolerance of plants against abiotic stresses. , For example, silicon ENMs could act as phytocouriers and nanobiostimulants to improve the accumulation of sucrose in plants by 2.8-fold under salinity stress . Cerium oxide (CeO 2 ) ENMs could augment the ROS scavenging (salinity stress) of Arabidopsis and lead to improvements of 19% in the quantum yield of PSII, 67% in carbon assimilation rates, and 61% in Rubisco carboxylation rates relative to plants without nanoparticles .…”

A silicon particle-based courier promotes melatonin-mediated seed tolerance to nickel toxicity in rice

“…For example, combination of melatonin with AuNPs was demonstrated to improve plant tolerance to cadmium toxicity in rice; 35 hydrolysable porous silicon NPs, stabilized with trehalose, were introduced efficiently into Cannabis sativa plants for improvement of its salinity tolerance by delivery of quercetin, a stress-mitigating compound. 71 In this study, after covalent-bonding of melatonin with naturally oxidized porous silicon, through seed priming, pSi-melatonin compounds could remarkably ameliorate the performance of seeds exposed to Ni toxicity, including increased germination rates and improved seedling growth, and performed better than pSi or MT treatments alone (Fig. 1 and 2).…”

“…40 Si NPs also could act as vehicles in crop protection to deliver different molecules, like proteins, nucleic acids, and chemicals, 74 based on their enormous surface area and multiple binding sites. 43 Guerriero et al 71 reported that hydrolysable pSi could serve as a phyto-courier to carry quercetin for improvement of leaf tolerance to salinity. Here, pSi could effectively bond with melatonin through natural formation of a covalent-bond, and the nanocomposite of pSi-MT had significant amelioration effects on germination performance of Ni-stressed seeds, and its effects were greater than those of the treatments with pSi and melatonin alone (Fig.…”

Nanoparticles: The Plant Saviour under Abiotic Stresses

“…A foliar application of Zn NPs on rapeseed plants ( Brassica napus L.) under salinity stress reduced the expression of some genes, such as SKRD2, MYC and MPK4 , and increased the expression of other genes, such as ARP and MPK associated with physiological and hormonal responses and transcription factors, and MYC and SKRD2 which are involved in abiotic stress tolerance in plant cells [ 124 ]. As a result of the application of Si NPs to Cannabis sativa L., the plant’s growth and molecular changes improved under salinity stress conditions [ 125 ]. In tomato plants subjected to salinity stress, proteomics analysis showed that Si affected genes involved in light-harvesting complexes, cytochrome b6f (Cytb6f) and ATP-synthesizing complexes.…”