Putrescine-functionalized carbon quantum dot (put-CQD) nanoparticles effectively prime grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Sultana’) against salt stress

Abstract

Background Salinity is an important global problem with destructive impacts on plants leading to different biochemical and metabolic changes in plants through induced oxidative stress that disturbs metabolism, growth, performance and productivity of plants. Given that putrescine (Put) and carbon quantum dots (CQDs), individually, have promising effects in different plant processes, the idea of their combination in a nano-structure “Put-CQD” lead to its synthesis to evaluate the potential exertion of synergistic effects. The current study aimed to investigate the application of newly-synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) consisting of CQDs and Put in grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Sultana’) under salinity stress conditions. For this purpose, Put, CQDs and Put-CQD NPs at 5 and 10 mg L− 1 concentrations were applied as chemical priming agents in ‘Sultana’ grapevine 48 h prior salinity stress imposition (0 and 100 mM NaCl). Results Salinity significantly decreased (P ≤ 0.05) morphological parameters, photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and membrane stability index. In addition, salinity enhanced MDA, H2O2, proline content and antioxidant enzyme activity. Results revealed that Put-CQD NPs, particularly at 10 mg L− 1 concentration, alleviated the destructive impacts of salinity stress by improving leaf fresh and dry weights, K+ content, photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll fluorescence and SPAD parameters, proline content, total phenolics and antioxidant enzymatic activities (CAT, APX, GP and SOD), while decreasing Na+ content, EL, MDA and H2O2 levels. Conclusion To conclude, Put-CQD NPs represent an innovative priming treatment that could be effectively applied on grapevine to improve plant performance under salinity stress conditions.

Plant Salinity Stress Response and Nano-Enabled Plant Salt Tolerance

“…Similar results were also found in wheat ( Mushtaq et al, 2017 ), tomato ( Faizan et al, 2021 ), soybean ( Farhangi-Abriz and Torabian, 2018 ), and rapeseed ( Khan et al, 2021 ). Carbon quantum dots can significantly improve the activity of antioxidant enzyme system to reduce the content of ROS and to alleviate oxidative damage on cell membrane, thus enhancing grape salt tolerance ( Gohari et al, 2021 ). Cucumber plants with foliar-delivered Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles showed less ROS accumulation and better salt tolerance than the control without nanoparticles ( Lu et al, 2020 ).…”

Carbon-Based Nanomaterials for Sustainable Agriculture: Their Application as Light Converters, Nanosensors, and Delivery Tools

“…The use of CNMs to improve plant stress tolerance, and thus agricultural production, is well Plants 2022, 11, 511 2 of 12 known. For example, 10 mg/L putrescine-functionalized CDs has been used to improve grape salt tolerance [6]. Reduced GO (rGO) showed obvious inhibitory effects on Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium poae in vitro [7].…”

Sustainable Agriculture through Multidisciplinary Seed Nanopriming: Prospects of Opportunities and Challenges

“…Nanomaterials will be applied to multiple functions in agriculture as the understanding of nanotechnology increases. It has been noticed that most agricultural lands are affected by abiotic stress factors such as salinity and drought, which is limiting plant distribution in the habitat [ 12 ]. In order to combat abiotic stress factors, engineered nanoparticles have been found to be a promising alternative [ 13 ].…”