CuO Nanoparticle-Mediated Seed Priming Improves Physio-Biochemical and Enzymatic Activities of Brassica juncea

Abstract

The use of nanoparticles (NPs) in agricultural fields has risen to a level where people are considering NPs as an alternative to commercial fertilizers. The input of copper oxide NPs (CuO NPs) as seed primers was investigated in this study, and the growth indices of Brassica juncea such as phenotypic parameters, photosynthetic attributes, and biochemical parameters were measured during maximum vegetative growth stage, i.e., at 45 days after sowing. Surface sterilized seeds were soaked in varying concentrations (0, 2, 4, 8 and 16 mg/L) of CuO NPs for 15, 30, and/or 45 min. After those priming periods, the seeds were planted in pots and allowed to grow naturally. Among the different tested concentrations of CuO NPs, 4 mg/L of CuO NPs for 30 min seed priming proved to be best, and considerably increased the, shoot length (30%), root length (27%), net photosynthetic rate (30%), internal CO2 concentration (28%), and proline content (41%). Besides, the performance of the antioxidant enzymes, viz, superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and biochemical parameters such as nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase were also increased by several folds after the application of CuO NPs in B. juncea. The present study suggests that CuO NPs can be effectively used to increase the performance of B. juncea and may also be suitable for testing on other crop species.

Comprehensive Metal-Based Nanopriming for Improving Seed Germination and Initial Growth of Field Pea (Pisum sativum L.)

“…Previous studies have reported similar results to our findings on the seedling biomass accumulation of SeO NPs-treated wheat seeds [51]. Likewise, beneficial effects of ZnO NPs, CuO NPs, and FeO NPs on plant biomass accumulation was also reported by [52][53][54], respectively. Moreover, Chau et al [43] also reported a significant increase in dry biomass of soybean due to seed priming with Co and MoO 3 NPs.…”

Effects of Copper Compounds on Phenolic Composition of the Common and Tartary Buckwheat Seedlings

“…Increased concentrations of total phenols were found also in buckwheat exposed to metals, such as Zn and Al [54,56], and seeds treated with 2% chlorcholine chloride [57]. Furthermore, the seed coating of Brassica juncea with CuO NPs had a 41% increase in proline content, which is also an indicator of antioxidant non-enzymatic activity [15]. Altogether, our results confirm the role of phenylpropanoid metabolic pathways in the response of plants to metal or/and metallic NPs [15,58].…”

“…Furthermore, the seed coating of Brassica juncea with CuO NPs had a 41% increase in proline content, which is also an indicator of antioxidant non-enzymatic activity [15]. Altogether, our results confirm the role of phenylpropanoid metabolic pathways in the response of plants to metal or/and metallic NPs [15,58]. This suggests that CuO NPs and MPs at appropriate concentrations could protect plants from stress by boosting their antioxidative defense system and may also contribute additional nutritional value to human nutrition.…”

“…The release of ions is impacted by the size of the particles; by reducing the size of particulate matter, the solubility and activity significantly increase, but on the other side also there is a toxicological and environmental risk [10]. Nanotechnology explores the use of nanoparticles (NPs) as nano-fertilizers to improve plant nutrition, as well as seed coatings for pests and microbes protection [12][13][14][15][16]. However, their exact mechanism of antimicrobial action remains unknown [17].…”

“…Recent studies demonstrated that copper (II) oxide (CuO) NPs could be used as nano-fertilizers [20,21], but their impact on seed germination varies among studies, from no effect to its inhibition [21][22][23], with genotoxic effects reported that cause oxidative damage and DNA lesions [24,25]. Furthermore, these NPs have been shown to influence the antioxidant defense system in plants [13,15,26,27].…”