Cytokinin response in pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) exposed to silver nanoparticles.
The increasing development of different nanomaterials, such as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and their practical use in agriculture and biotechnology has created a strong need for elucidations of biological effects and risk assessments of AgNPs in plants. This study was aimed to investigate AgNPs effects on metal uptake and their biodistribution in pepper plants as well as on morphological parameters and hormonal responses of the isoprenoid cytokinin (CK) family. In addition, the comparison of effects silver form, nanoparticles vs. ionic, has also been examined. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study describing CK responses in plants exposed to metallic NPs. The obtained results indicate that both AgNPs and Ag+ions significantly increased total content of Ag+in pepper tissues in a dose-dependent manner and affected on plant development by decreasing both plant height and biomass in a similar way. This study evidenced for the first time the role of CKs in abiotic stress in plants caused by AgNPs. The hormonal analysis, conducted by an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, revealed a significant increase in total CKs in the leaves and also highlighted the importance of cis-zeatin type CKs in plants treated with AgNPs. Our observations suggest potential risks of AgNPs on plant ecosystems upon their release into the environment.
Faculty of Agriculture in Osijek, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Trg Svetog Trojstva 3, 31000 Osijek, Croatia.
Tomislav
T
Vinković
Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Palacký University & Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, Šlechtitelů 27, 78371 Olomouc, Czechia.
Ondrej
O
Novák
Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Palacký University & Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, Šlechtitelů 27, 78371 Olomouc, Czechia.
Miroslav
M
Strnad
Institute for Chemistry, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 1, 8010 Graz, Austria.
Walter
W
Goessler
Division of Physical Chemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Darija Domazet
DD
Jurašin
Faculty of Agriculture in Osijek, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Trg Svetog Trojstva 3, 31000 Osijek, Croatia.
Nada
N
Parađiković
Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, 10001 Zagreb, Croatia. Electronic address: ivinkovic@imi.hr.
Ivana Vinković
IV
Vrček
D002212:Capsicum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D003583:Cytokinins / Q000378:metabolism*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity*; D012834:Silver / Q000633:toxicity*
D003583:Cytokinins; D012834:Silver
Abiotic stress; Biodistribution; Cytokinin response; Pepper; Silver nanoparticles; Uptake