Physiological and biochemical response of soil-grown barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) to cerium oxide nanoparticles

Rico, Cyren M.; Barrios, Ana C.; Tan, Wenjuan; Rubenecia, Rosnah; Lee, Sang-Chul; Varela-Ramirez, Armando; Peralta-Videa, Jose R.; Gardea-Torresdey, Jorge L.

Physiological and biochemical response of soil-grown barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) to cerium oxide nanoparticles

2015

A soil microcosm study was performed to examine the impacts of cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO₂) on the physiology, productivity, and macromolecular composition of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The plants were cultivated in soil treated with nCeO₂ at 0, 125, 250, and 500 mg kg⁻¹ (control, nCeO₂-L, nCeO₂-M, and nCeO₂-H, respectively). Accumulation of Ce in leaves/grains and its effects on plant stress and nutrient loading were analyzed. The data revealed that nCeO₂-H promoted plant development resulting in 331 % increase in shoot biomass compared with the control. nCeO₂ treatment modified the stress levels in leaves without apparent signs of toxicity. However, plants exposed to nCeO₂-H treatment did not form grains. Compared with control, nCeO₂-M enhanced grain Ce accumulation by as much as 294 % which was accompanied by remarkable increases in P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Al. Likewise, nCeO₂-M enhanced the methionine, aspartic acid, threonine, tyrosine, arginine, and linolenic acid contents in the grains by up to 617, 31, 58, 141, 378, and 2.47 % respectively, compared with the rest of the treatments. The findings illustrate the beneficial and harmful effects of nanoceria in barley.

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