Open Access
ARTICLE
Phenotype, Physiology, and Gene Expression of Barley Seedlings in Response to Nano Zinc Oxide Stress
Mengyuan Dong#, Rong Sun#, Qianhui Yang, Lantian Zhang, Yangying Yong, Yunxia Fang, Xian Zhang, Xiaoqin Zhang*, Dawei Xue*
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310036, China
* Corresponding Authors: Xiaoqin Zhang. Email: ; Dawei Xue. Email:
# These authors contributed equally to this work
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2021, 90(6), 1589-1598. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2021.017465
Received 11 May 2021; Accepted 01 June 2021; Issue published 28 June 2021
Abstract
In recent years, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have been widely used as zinc fertilizers and pesticides. The
use of ZnO NPs in this way can provide benefits to humans, but also has potential risks. ZnO NPs inevitably enter
the environment during their production and use, which affects the ecological environment and crop growth. In
order to investigate the phenotype, physiology, and gene expression of barley (
Hordeum vulgare L.) seedlings
under ZnO NPs stress, the barely cultivars ZJU3 (P21), Golden Promise (GP) and L23 were chosen for study.
Different ZnO NPs concentrations were applied to compare the physiological and biochemical indexes of the barley seedlings and the responses of six stress-related genes, when seedlings were cultured to the two-leaf stage
through hydroponics. The results showed that the density of brown spots on the leaf surface increased with
increasing ZnO NPs concentration. ZnO NPs stress inhibited the root growth of barley seedlings, and P21 was
the most sensitive. Furthermore, ZnO NPs stress could stimulate plants to produce a large number of reactive
oxygen species (ROS), resulting in an imbalance between the production and removal of ROS and membrane
lipid peroxidation in plants. This imbalance inhibited the growth and development of the barley seedlings. With
increasing ZnO NPs concentration, the activity of superoxide dismutase was gradually increased, the activity of
catalase was progressively decreased, and the contents of malondialdehyde and proline were increased. Compared
with the control, among six stress-related genes, the expression levels of five genes were downregulated and one
gene was upregulated in the experimental group. This study preliminarily revealed the toxic effect of ZnO NPs on
seedlings and the effect on the expression of stress-related resistance genes in different barley varieties.
Keywords
Cite This Article
APA Style
Dong, M., Sun, R., Yang, Q., Zhang, L., Yong, Y. et al. (2021). Phenotype, physiology, and gene expression of barley seedlings in response to nano zinc oxide stress. Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, 90(6), 1589-1598. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2021.017465
Vancouver Style
Dong M, Sun R, Yang Q, Zhang L, Yong Y, Fang Y, et al. Phenotype, physiology, and gene expression of barley seedlings in response to nano zinc oxide stress. Phyton-Int J Exp Bot. 2021;90(6):1589-1598 https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2021.017465
IEEE Style
M. Dong et al., "Phenotype, Physiology, and Gene Expression of Barley Seedlings in Response to Nano Zinc Oxide Stress," Phyton-Int. J. Exp. Bot., vol. 90, no. 6, pp. 1589-1598. 2021. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2021.017465