Effect of Nanoparticles on Triticum aestivum Under Phosphorus Stress

Abstract

Cereals are essential part of human diet comprising about 50 % of the consumed calories. Wheat is an important crop and staple food for both the developing and developed countries but its currently global watming and abrupt changes in the environmental conditions are leading to changes in our agricultural systems, which interns effect the crop production though plants usually develop morphological and physiological changes to cope up with the environmental and nutrient. Phosphorous deficiency is the major limiting factor of wheat production in many areas of Pakistan especially where fatmers cannot afford the high cost of soil analysis and fertilizers. Considering the food security under such threats, we can utilize advance nanotechnology for boosting wheat production by assuring its sustainability. Nanomaterials offer a wider specific surface area to fetiilizers and pesticides. In addition, nanomaterials as unique carriers of agrochemicals facilitate the site-targeted controlled delivery of nutrients with increased crop protection. Different nanomaterial have different effects on growth and development of plants depending upon their varieties, therefore we used novel zinc oxide and silicon dioxide nanoparticies synthesized in our lab by a former student named, Asma Noor, to study the wheat roots in tem1S of changes in root architecture, anatomy and morphology playing role in phosphorous acquisition and under the presence of nanoparticies Root system architecture (RSA) of two of the local wheat varieties of Pakistan SKD-l and PAK-81 have been studied along with molecular expression of ethylene and cytokinin signaling genes in response to phosphorous deficiency in the presence of nanoparticles. Our results showed that phosphorous deficiency has significant effect on root architecture. There was significant difference in root architecture of SKD-l and P AK -81 varieties under different phosphorous concentrations and in presence of ZnO, Si02 nanoparticies. These were compat'ed to control having no nanoparticies exhibiting that roots under control had a moderate effect under phosphorus stress while roots within nanopatticies showed high and low contrasting effects at both physical and molecular level. Different root traits were studied in both varieties of at physiological, cellular and molecular levels. We tried to analyze the factors,