Green synthesized silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2NPs) ameliorated the cadmium toxicity in melon by regulating antioxidant enzymes activity and stress-related genes expression

IF 7.6 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Pollution Pub Date : 2024-12-05 DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125459

Muhammad Sanaullah Malik, Asad Rehman, Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Samiah Arif, Kai Nan, Yumeng Yan, Shiren Song, Muhammad Khalid Hameed, Muhammad Azam, Yidong Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Green synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) are an eco-friendly and cost-effective approach to reduce heavy metal stress in plants. Among heavy metals, cadmium (Cd) possesses higher toxicity to the crops and ultimately reduces their growth and yield. The current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of green synthesized SiO₂NPs to reduce toxic effects of Cd in melon (Cucumis melo) by regulating physiological parameters, enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity, and modulating stress-related gene expression. The SiO₂NPs were synthesized using Artemisia annua plant extract having spherical shape and size within the range of 40-70 nm and characterized using advanced spectroscopic and analytical techniques. The application of SiO₂NPs (75mg/L) significantly improved physiological parameters such as shoot length (SL), root length (RL), leaf fresh weight (LFW), root fresh weight (RFW), leaf dry weight (LDW) and root dry weight (RDW) by 14%, 20%, 15%, 16%, 14%, and 28%, respectively, compared to Cd-stressed plants. Photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids) showed a notable increase of 15% and 40%, respectively. Furthermore, the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, POD, CAT, and APX were enhanced by 28.67%, 35.45%, 32.07%, and 42.75%, respectively. In addition, applying SiO₂NPs increased the concentration of macronutrients N, P, and K by 33%, 40%, and 37%, respectively, compared to Cd-stressed plants. Moreover, SiO₂NPs upregulated the expression of several stress-related genes and reduced Cd accumulation in shoots and roots. This study reveals that green synthesized SiO₂NPs effectively reduced the Cd toxicity in melon by improving morphological and physiological parameters, enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity, and regulating the expression of stress-related genes. These findings suggest that green synthesized SiO₂NPs could play a crucial role in sustainable agriculture by protecting crops from heavy metal stress.

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来源期刊

Environmental Pollution 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

16.00

自引率

6.70%

发文量

2082

审稿时长

2.9 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Pollution is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality research papers and review articles covering all aspects of environmental pollution and its impacts on ecosystems and human health. Subject areas include, but are not limited to: • Sources and occurrences of pollutants that are clearly defined and measured in environmental compartments, food and food-related items, and human bodies; • Interlinks between contaminant exposure and biological, ecological, and human health effects, including those of climate change; • Contaminants of emerging concerns (including but not limited to antibiotic resistant microorganisms or genes, microplastics/nanoplastics, electronic wastes, light, and noise) and/or their biological, ecological, or human health effects; • Laboratory and field studies on the remediation/mitigation of environmental pollution via new techniques and with clear links to biological, ecological, or human health effects; • Modeling of pollution processes, patterns, or trends that is of clear environmental and/or human health interest; • New techniques that measure and examine environmental occurrences, transport, behavior, and effects of pollutants within the environment or the laboratory, provided that they can be clearly used to address problems within regional or global environmental compartments.