Titanium Oxide and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in Combination with Cadmium Tolerant Ameliorates the Cadmium Toxicity in Maize.

The efficiency of Cd-tolerant plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO) in maize growing in Cd-rich conditions was tested in the current study. The best Cd-tolerant strain, , exhibited plant growth stimulation in vivo and in vitro experiments. We determined the toxic concentrations (30 (ppm)) of both NPs for plant growth. , ZnO NPs (20 (ppm)), and TiO NPs (10 (ppm)) had a synergistic effect on plant growth promotion in Cd-contaminated soil (120 (ppm)) in a pot experiment. Both alone and in combination, these therapies reduced Cd toxicity, resulting in improved stress metabolism and defense responses. The combined treatments showed increased relative water content, photosynthetic pigments, proline, total sugars, and proteins and significantly reduced lipid peroxidation. Moreover, this combination increased the levels of minerals and antioxidants and reduced Cd bioaccumulation in shoots and roots by 40-60%. Our in silico pipeline presented a novel picture of the participation of ZnO-TiO protein interaction in both and maize. These findings provide fresh insights on the use of , ZnO, and TiO NPs, both separately and in combination, as a viable and environmentally benign strategy for reducing Cd stress in maize.