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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Growth, metal partitioning and antioxidant enzyme activities of mung beans as influenced by zinc oxide nanoparticles under cadmium stress

Md Harunur Rashid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2565-9296 A B C , Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3426-5221 A B * , Md Abdul Halim A B and Ravi Naidu A B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.

B Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE), ATC Building, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.

C Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur 1701, Bangladesh.


Handling Editor: Shahid Hussain

Crop & Pasture Science - https://doi.org/10.1071/CP21598
Submitted: 4 May 2021  Accepted: 8 December 2021   Published online: 11 May 2022

© 2021 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context: Cadmium (Cd) toxicity and zinc (Zn) deficiency are of major concerns for crop growth and quality. Moreover, their interactive effects exert some controversial reports.

Aims: The effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and Cd on growth, physiology, and metal distribution in mung beans (Vigna radiata L.) was investigated.

Methods: Seven-day-old seedlings were treated with Zn (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 μM) and Cd (0, 0.5, 1 μM) for 14 days.

Key results: Photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzyme activities, dry matter yield and metal concentration in tissues were significantly influenced by ZnO NPs and Cd. Considered on its own as a main effect, Zn application (16 μM) enhanced its accumulation in roots, stem and leaf by about 33-fold (314 mg kg−1), 10-fold (60.6 mg kg−1) and 17-fold (110.8 mg kg−1), respectively, compared to control. However, accumulation was slower for interactions with Cd. While leaf Zn increased approximately 27 times (180 mg kg−1) at 32 μM Zn, its interactions with lower and higher Cd increased only 6-fold (41.2 mg kg−1) and 3-fold (21.4 mg kg−1), respectively. Added ZnO NPs up to 4 μM under Cd contamination elevated the leaf Cd, which was restricted by higher supply. However, Cd accumulation in stem and root consistently rose, indicating a synergistic effect. ZnO NPs induced an upregulation of antioxidant enzymes to avert oxidative stress and maintain growth performance.

Implications: These findings may be suitable for formulating nanomaterials of desired particle sizes and testing on other crop to remediate Cd.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes, biofortification, cadmium, chlorophyll, metal partitioning, mung beans, photosynthetic pigments, reactive oxygen species (ROS), transfer/translocation factor, zinc oxide nanoparticles.


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