Department of Botany, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan.
Department of Botany, Islamia College Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan.
Molecules. 2023 Jun 28;28(13):5059. doi: 10.3390/molecules28135059.
Plants are sessile and mostly exposed to various environmental stresses which hamper plant growth, development, and significantly decline its production. Drought stress is considered to be one of the most significant limiting factors for crop plants, notably in arid and semi-arid parts the world. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the potential impact of different concentrations (10, 100, and 200 µg/mL) of kinetin capped zinc oxide nanoparticles (Kn-ZnONPs) on (L.) R. Wilczek under varying levels (5%, 10%, 15%) of PEG-induced drought stress. ZnONPs were synthesized by a co-precipitation method using Zinc acetate as a precursor at pH-12, incinerated to 500 °C, and kinetin was used as a surface functionalizing agent. The resulting Kn-ZnONPs were characterized by various contemporary analytical techniques, including SEM, SEM-EDS, XRD, DLS, and Zeta potential and IR spectroscopy. Crystalline Kn-ZnONPs, with a zeta potential of 27.8 mV and a size of 67.78 nm, of hexagonal wurtzite structure and vibrational stretches associated with N-H, C-O, C-N, etc., were confirmed. PEG-induced drought stress significantly reduced the growth of by declining the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. Moreover, a significant decrease in the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), soluble sugar contents, proline, protein contents, phenol, and tannin were observed compared to the control. However, the exogenous application of Kn-ZnONPs ameliorated all photosynthetic parameters by up-regulating the antioxidant defense system through the promotion of SOD, POD, CAT, and lipid peroxidation levels. The biochemical parameters, such as proteins, soluble sugars, and proline, were observed to be maximum in plants treated with 200 µg/mL Kn-ZnONPs under 5% drought stress. The application of Kn-ZnONPs also enhanced the total phenol contents, flavonoid, and tannin contents. In conclusion, the findings of this study demonstrate that the exogenous application of Kn-ZnONPs provides beneficial effects to by attenuating the damaging effects of drought stress through the up-regulation of the antioxidant defense system and osmolytes. These results suggest that Kn-ZnONPs have potential as a novel approach to improve crop productivity under drought stress conditions.
植物是固定不动的，它们大多暴露在各种环境压力下，这些压力会阻碍植物的生长、发育，并显著降低其产量。干旱胁迫被认为是作物的最重要限制因素之一，特别是在世界干旱和半干旱地区。因此，本研究旨在评估不同浓度（10、100 和 200 µg/mL）的激动素封端氧化锌纳米粒子（Kn-ZnONPs）对（L.）R. Wilczek 在不同水平（5%、10%、15%）聚乙二醇（PEG）诱导干旱胁迫下的潜在影响。ZnONPs 通过共沉淀法在 pH-12 下用醋酸锌作为前体合成，在 500°C 下煅烧，并使用激动素作为表面功能化剂。所得 Kn-ZnONPs 通过各种现代分析技术进行了表征，包括 SEM、SEM-EDS、XRD、DLS 和 Zeta 电位以及红外光谱。证实了具有 27.8 mV 的 ζ 电位和 67.78nm 的尺寸的结晶 Kn-ZnONPs，为六方纤锌矿结构，与 N-H、C-O、C-N 等相关的振动伸展。PEG 诱导的干旱胁迫显著降低了的生长，降低了叶绿素和类胡萝卜素的含量。此外，与对照相比，超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化物酶（POD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶（APX）、可溶性糖含量、脯氨酸、蛋白质含量、酚类和单宁的水平显著降低。然而，外源应用 Kn-ZnONPs 通过促进 SOD、POD、CAT 和脂质过氧化水平来上调抗氧化防御系统，从而改善了所有光合作用参数。在 5%干旱胁迫下，用 200µg/mL Kn-ZnONPs 处理的植物中的蛋白质、可溶性糖和脯氨酸等生化参数观察到最大值。Kn-ZnONPs 的应用也提高了总酚含量、类黄酮和单宁含量。总之，本研究的结果表明，外源应用 Kn-ZnONPs 通过上调抗氧化防御系统和渗透物来减轻干旱胁迫的破坏作用，从而为提供有益的效果。这些结果表明，Kn-ZnONPs 具有作为一种在干旱胁迫条件下提高作物生产力的新方法的潜力。
