Cerium oxide nanoparticles promoted lateral root formation in Arabidopsis by modulating reactive oxygen species and Ca2+ level

Guangjing Li; Quanlong Gao; Ashadu Nyande; Zihao Dong; Ehtisham Hassan Khan; Yuqian Han; Honghong Wu

doi:10.1071/FP24196

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Cerium oxide nanoparticles promoted lateral root formation in Arabidopsis by modulating reactive oxygen species and Ca²⁺ level

Guangjing Li ^A ^B , Quanlong Gao ^A ^B , Ashadu Nyande ^A ^B , Zihao Dong ^A ^B , Ehtisham Hassan Khan ^A ^B , Yuqian Han ^A ^B and Honghong Wu

^A ^B ^C ^D ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Horticultural Crops, The Center of Crop Nanobiotechnology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.

^B Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China.

^C Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Shenzhen 511464, China.

^D Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 511464, China.

^* Correspondence to: honghong.wu@mail.hzau.edu.cn

Handling Editor: Sergey Shabala

Functional Plant Biology 51, FP24196 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP24196

Submitted: 13 August 2024 Accepted: 18 September 2024 Published: 4 October 2024

© 2024 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

Roots play an important role in plant growth, including providing essential mechanical support, water uptake, and nutrient absorption. Nanomaterials play a positive role in improving plant root development, but there is limited knowledge of how nanomaterials affect lateral root (LR) formation. Poly (acrylic) acid coated nanoceria (cerium oxide nanoparticles, PNC) are commonly used to improve plant stress tolerance due to their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, its impact on LR formation remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of PNC on LR formation in Arabidopsis thaliana by monitoring ROS levels and Ca²⁺ distribution in roots. Our results demonstrate that PNC significantly promote LR formation, increasing LR numbers by 26.2%. Compared to controls, PNC-treated Arabidopsis seedlings exhibited reduced H₂O₂ levels by 18.9% in primary roots (PRs) and 40.6% in LRs, as well as decreased $O_{2}^{\cdot -}$ levels by 47.7% in PRs and 88.5% in LRs. When compared with control plants, Ca²⁺ levels were reduced by 35.7% in PRs and 22.7% in LRs of PNC-treated plants. Overall, these results indicate that PNC could enhance LR development by modulating ROS and Ca²⁺ levels in roots.

Keywords: Ca²⁺, histochemical staining, laser confocal microscopy, lateral root formation, nanoceria, qPCR, ROS, transmission electron microscopy.

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