Plant Response to Engineered Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

All metal oxide nanoparticles influence the growth and development of plants. They generally enhance or reduce seed germination, shoot/root growth, biomass production and physiological and biochemical activities. Some plant species have not shown any physiological change, although significant variations in antioxidant enzyme activity and upregulation of heat shock protein have been observed. Plants have evolved antioxidant defence mechanism which involves enzymatic as well as non-enzymatic components to prevent oxidative damage and enhance plant resistance to metal oxide toxicity. The exact mechanism of plant defence against the toxicity of nanomaterials has not been fully explored. The absorption and translocation of metal oxide nanoparticles in different parts of the plant depend on their bioavailability, concentration, solubility and exposure time. Further, these nanoparticles may reach other organisms, animals and humans through food chain which may alter the entire biodiversity. This review attempts to summarize the plant response to a number of metal oxide nanoparticles and their translocation/distribution in root/shoot. The toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles has also been considered to see if they affect the production of seeds, fruits and the plant biomass as a whole.

Graphene oxide and indole-3-acetic acid cotreatment regulates the root growth of Brassica napus L. via multiple phytohormone pathways

“…The plant defense mechanism is activated in response to stress, and increased amounts of protective enzymes and antioxidants are synthesized, such as ascorbate peroxidase, catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Studies have shown that nanomaterials influence plant growth and development via the ROS pathway [9]. Research has shown that under stress conditions, plant growth and defense responses are regulated in a coordinated manner by the activity of several phytohormones, such as ABA, CTK, GA and IAA.…”

Irrigation Water Quality—A Contemporary Perspective

“…Metal oxide nanoparticles, which form a bulk of engineered nanomaterials, have been well studied under the purview of plant uptake [227]. Metal oxides like titanium dioxide, silver oxide, iron oxide, copper oxide and metal nanoparticles have been shown to accumulate in a variety of food crops and have even been detected in commercial produce [228][229][230][231][232]. A recent review by Ma et al describes studies of nanoparticle uptake by crops and their occurrence in the final produce [40].…”

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles (ZnONPs) as Nanofertilizer: Improvement on Seed Yield and Antioxidant Defense System in Soil Grown Soybean (Glycine maxcv. Kowsar)

“…These mechanisms consist of both non-enzymatic antioxidants, including the low molecular weight compounds (phenolics, ascorbate, a-tocopherols, glutathione, carotenoids, and proline), and enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), among others (Getnet et al, 2015;Ozyigit et al, 2016). These antioxidants reduce ENP related oxidative injury in plants (Siddiqi and Husen, 2017). MDA is one of the by-products of oxidative stress and ROS that results from the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids on the cell membrane (Gaschler and Stockwell, 2017).…”