Response of Maize Seedlings to Silicon Dioxide Nanoparticles (SiO<sub>2</sub>NPs) under Drought Stress
Asmaa A. Sharf-Eldin | Khairiah Mubarak Alwutayd | Ahmed Abou El-Yazied | Hossam S. El-Beltagi | Basmah M. Alharbi | Mohammad A. M. Eisa | Mohammed Alqurashi | Mohamed Sharaf | Nadi Awad Al-Harbi | Salem Mesfir Al-Qahtani | Mohamed F. M. Ibrahim
Recently, the use of nanofertilizers has received a great deal of attention in managing plants under biotic and abiotic stresses. However, studies that elucidate the role of silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO<sub>2</sub>NPs) in regulating maize tolerance to drought stress are still at early stages of development. In this study, plants that were treated with SiO<sub>2</sub>NPs (0.25 g/L as foliar spray) displayed considerable improvement in the growth indices, despite being subjected to drought stress. In addition, the action of SiO<sub>2</sub>NPs led to a considerable rise in the levels of chlorophylls, proline, cell membrane integrity, leaf water content, and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and guaiacol peroxidase (G-POX)). In contrast, an inverse trend was seen in the oxidative injury, the total amount of soluble sugars, and the activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX). At the same time, carotenoids were unaffected in SiO<sub>2</sub>NPs-treated and non-treated plants under drought stress. The results of the molecular investigation that was conducted using qRT-PCR showed that the relative expression of the D2 protein of photosystem II (<i>PsbD</i>) was elevated in SiO<sub>2</sub>NPs-treated plants in response to drought stress, while the expression of the osmotic-like protein (<i>OSM-34</i>) and aquaporin (<i>AQPs</i>) was downregulated in SiO<sub>2</sub>NPs-treated plants in response to drought stress. This research could pave the way for further investigations into how SiO<sub>2</sub>NPs boost plant resistance to drought stress.
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