title: Cu-Chitosan Nanoparticle Mediated Sustainable Approach To Enhance Seedling Growth in Maize by Mobilizing Reserved Food.
abstract: Food crop seedlings often have susceptibility to various abiotic and biotic stresses. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the impact of Cu-chitosan nanoparticles (NPs) on physiological and biochemical changes during maize seedling growth. Higher values of percent germination, shoot and root length, root number, seedling length, fresh and dry weight, and seed vigor index were obtained at 0.04-0.12% concentrations of Cu-chitosan NPs as compared to water, CuSO4, and bulk chitosan treatments. Cu-chitosan NPs at the same concentrations induced the activities of α-amylase and protease enzymes and also increased the total protein content in germinating seeds. The increased activities of α-amylase and protease enzymes corroborated with decreased content of starch and protein, respectively, in the germinating seeds. Cu-chitosan NPs at 0.16% and CuSO4 at 0.01% concentrations showed inhibitory effect on seedling growth. The observed results on seedling growth could be explained by the toxicity of excess Cu and growth promotory effect of Cu-chitosan NPs. Physiological and biochemical studies suggest that Cu-chitosan NPs enhance the seedling growth of maize by mobilizing the reserved food, primarily starch, through the higher activity of α-amylase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology , Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001, India.
authors.forename: Vinod
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Saharan
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology , Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001, India.
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Kumaraswamy
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology , Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001, India.
authors.forename: Ram Chandra
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Choudhary
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology , Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001, India.
authors.forename: Sarita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumari
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University , Hisar, Haryana 125004, India.
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raliya
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.
authors.forename: Pratim
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biswas
mesh_terms: D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018525:Germination; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000032:analysis; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D036226:Seedlings / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D013213:Starch / Q000378:metabolism; D003313:Zea mays / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D003300:Copper; D013213:Starch; D048271:Chitosan; D000516:alpha-Amylases
keywords: Cu-chitosan; chitosan; nanoparticles; seedling growth