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Biosynthesized Silica Nanoparticles (Si NPs) Helps in Mitigating Drought Stress in Wheat Through Physiological Changes and Upregulation of Stress Genes

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Abstract

Purpose

Among the myriad of abiotic stresses, drought is a prominent stress that harms plant growth, development, crop yield, and quality. Nowadays, the ideas of sustainable agriculture have focused on the introduction of biologically synthesized nanomaterials to maximize crop yield with the least amount of potential toxic effects. The application of nanoparticles is thought to be one of the most effective and promising methods for reducing the consequences of drought stress on crops.

Methods

The Si nanoparticles were characterized in detail and four different concentrations of Si NPs (30 ppm, 60 ppm, 90 ppm, and 120 ppm) were used for the study at two irrigation regimes with 100% soil moisture content (SMC) under well-watered and 50% SMC under drought stress conditions.

Results

Substantial improvement in almost all physiological parameters was observed after foliar application of Si NPs at all concentrations, but 60 ppm concentration was found to be the most effective in improving overall plant resistance to drought stress. This was evident by lowered hydrogen peroxidase (H2O2) and lipid peroxidation (MDA) content and increased relative water content (RWC), antioxidant enzyme activities (APOX, CAT, and SOD), chlorophyll content, and proline content. A total of 5 stress-related genes (DREB2, MYB33 MYB3R, WRKY 19, and SnRK 2.4) were studied, which were found to be upregulated after application of Si NPs, indicating its stimulatory role even at molecular levels.

Conclusion

Our detailed investigational study and findings will open a pragmatic option in research studies related to usage of nanoparticles in mitigating of drought tolerance of wheat. The study can definitely be used a reference for future work in diverse crops, where production is being drastically compromised due to climate change, particularly water deficiency.

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Illustrating role of Si NPs in drought stress mitigation (created in BioRender.com)

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Data Availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article. Supplementary data (if any) can be made available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial support provided to us in the form of university minor project by Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar, Haryana, India and the research facilities of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for conducting SEM/TEM Analysis.

Funding

The work was partially supported by the financial grant received in the form of University Minor Project (Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar, Haryana, India) via letter no Endst No: DR/2022/07 dated 10/02/2022.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bio & NanoTechnology, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar, Haryana, 125001, India

    Rekha Boora, Promila Sheoran, Neelam Rani, Santosh Kumari, Rajesh Thakur & Sapna Grewal

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  1. Rekha Boora
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  2. Promila Sheoran
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  3. Neelam Rani
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  4. Santosh Kumari
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  6. Sapna Grewal
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Contributions

Sapna Grewal (SG), Rekha Boora (RB), Promila Sheoran (PS), Neelam Rani (NR), Santosh Kumari (SK), Rajesh Thakur (RT). SG -conceived and designed the research work. RB -conducted the experiments and did the research work. PS, RB, NR -data collection and analysis. SG, RB SK, RT- Contributed to data interpretation and manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sapna Grewal.

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Boora, R., Sheoran, P., Rani, N. et al. Biosynthesized Silica Nanoparticles (Si NPs) Helps in Mitigating Drought Stress in Wheat Through Physiological Changes and Upregulation of Stress Genes. Silicon 15, 5565–5577 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-023-02439-x

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