PJB-2021-660
Effects of different sizes and concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on tomato (dicot) and wheat (monocot) seedlings
Syeda Hafsa Ali
Abstract
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) are one of the most widely employed NPs that are used in the production of a growing number of commercial goods. Because of their extensive use in various industries, their release into the environment may affect the food chain through plants as their entry point. Up till now, the effects of TiO2 NPs studied on plants have been limited and conflicting. Studies have suggested that the effects of TiO2 NPs on plants might depend on a number of factors such as size, concentration and plant species used for the research. Based on this, we designed the study to determine and compare the effects of different sizes and concentrations of TiO2 NPs on dicot (tomato) and monocot (wheat) plants. The tomato and wheat seedlings were treated with two sizes of TiO2 NPs, 32 and 55 nm, in concentrations 0.5 and 1 g/L. The accumulation of TiO2 NPs in treated seedlings was determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The effects of different sizes and concentrations of TiO2 NPs on tomato and wheat seedlings were assessed on parameters, such as germination percentage, root and shoot length, and chlorophyll, sugar and moisture content. The impact of TiO2 NPs was also evaluated on the activity of antioxidant enzymes, catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) that protect the plant cells from the toxic effects of various abiotic stresses including NPs. Our results show that TiO2 NPs were up taken by both tomato and wheat seedlings as determined by SEM and XRD. TiO2 NPs were observed to affect the tomato and wheat seedlings differently. TiO2 NPs treated tomato seedlings performed better than wheat seedlings in terms of traits, such as germination percentage, and root and shoot lengths. Smaller size of TiO2 NPs used (32 nm) was noted to exert more negative effects on seedlings than 55 nm, especially in wheat. TiO2 NPs were also observed to negatively impact the antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, APX and SOD) in both tomato and wheat seedlings.
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