title: Assessment of the Phytotoxicity of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Two Crop Plants, Maize (Zea mays L.) and Rice (Oryza sativa L.).
abstract: In this study, the phytotoxicity of seven metal oxide nanoparticles(NPs)-titanium dioxide (nTiO₂), silicon dioxide (nSiO₂), cerium dioxide (nCeO₂), magnetite (nFe₃O₄), aluminum oxide (nAl₂O₃), zinc oxide (nZnO) and copper oxide (nCuO)-was assessed on two agriculturally significant crop plants (maize and rice). The results showed that seed germination was not affected by any of the seven metal oxide NPs. However, at the concentration of 2000 mg·L(-1), the root elongation was significantly inhibited by nCuO (95.73% for maize and 97.28% for rice), nZnO (50.45% for maize and 66.75% for rice). On the contrary, minor phytotoxicity of nAl₂O₃ was only observed in maize, and no obvious toxic effects were found in the other four metal oxide NPs. By further study we found that the phytotoxic effects of nZnO, nAl₂O₃ and nCuO (25 to 2000 mg·L(-)¹) were concentration dependent, and were not caused by the corresponding Cu(2+), Zn(2+) and Al(3+) ions (0.11 mg·L(-)¹, 1.27 mg·L(-)¹ and 0.74 mg·L(-)¹, respectively). Furthermore, ZnO NPs (<50 nm) showed greater toxicity than ZnO microparticles(MPs)(<5 μm) to root elongation of both maize and rice. Overall, this study provided valuable information for the application of engineered NPs in agriculture and the assessment of the potential environmental risks.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China. yangzz121@nenu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhongzhou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China. chenj316@nenu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China. dourz288@nenu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Runzhi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China. gaoxiang424@163.com.|Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Changchun 130024, China. gaoxiang424@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA. cbmao@ou.edu.
authors.forename: Chuanbin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China. wanglee57@163.com.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000633:toxicity; D002563:Cerium / Q000633:toxicity; D002681:China; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide / Q000633:toxicity; D018525:Germination / Q000187:drug effects; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity*; D012275:Oryza / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects*; D012639:Seeds / Q000187:drug effects*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000633:toxicity; D014025:Titanium / Q000633:toxicity; D003313:Zea mays / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: C009495:titanium dioxide; D002563:Cerium; C030583:ceric oxide; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D003300:Copper; D014025:Titanium; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D015034:Zinc Oxide; C000520:cuprous oxide; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide
keywords: germination; maize; metal oxide nanoparticles; phytotoxicity; rice