Interactions Between a Plant Probiotic and Nanoparticles on Plant Responses Related to Drought Tolerance
2018
Jacobson, Astrid | Doxey, Stephanie | Potter, Matthew | Adams, Joshua | Britt, David | McManus, Paul | McLean, Joan | Anderson, Anne
Colonization of certain probiotic microbes as a biofilm on plant roots induces beneficial responses that boost plant health. The surface colonization, biofilm formation, and production of plant-beneficial metabolites by probiotics on plant roots may be influenced by agricultural formulations containing nanoparticles applied as pesticides or fertilizers. A model system of wheat grown in sand is used to study seedling responses to CuO and ZnO NPs, applied at concentrations 300 and 500 mg metal/kg growth medium respectively. These NPs did not impair formation of layered biofilms on wheat seedling roots by Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6 (PcO6), a probiotic inducing drought tolerance. Plant growth with 300 mg/kg CuO NPs alone lowered shoot water content by 12% and changed the mechanical properties of the tissue compared with control plants. After a 6-d drought, shoots of 13-d seedlings were visibly more erect when seedlings were grown with Cu from NPs or ions than plants grown without Cu amendment. Growth of PcO6-colonized plants with CuO NPs induced lignification of the sclerenchyma in shoots, as well as increased nitric oxide (NO) accumulations in the wheat root, a metabolite associated with cell signaling in drought tolerance. These studies suggest that formulations containing selected NPs may interact positively with plant probiotics in promoting robust plant tissues and drought tolerance.
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