Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
TiO
2
nanoparticles (anatase) enhanced antioxidant stress by decreasing the accu-
mulation of superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, malonyldialdehyde content
and increase the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase,
guaiacol peroxidase and thus increase the evolution oxygen rate in spinach chloro-
plasts under UV-B radiation (Lei et al.
2008
).
6 Conclusion and Future Scenario
Nanobiotechnology being studied since several years is still in the early stages of
advancement, however, the development is multi-directional and spreading rapidly.
Moreover, the increasing interest in nanobiotechnology has attracted enormous at-
tention which led to the rapid development of commercial applications involving
utilization of manufactured nanomaterials for crop improvement. In order to reduce
the collateral damage in plants, nanomaterials are proved to be a promising tool
to distribute pesticides and fertilizers in a controlled manner. In the framework of
plant-pathogen interaction, nanomaterial-based tools and their efficient transporta-
tion to specific sites provides novel solutions for the plants treatment. As compared
to bulk materials, size of nanoparticles plays key role in the behavior, reactivity and
toxicity of nanoparticles. With these characteristic, it is obvious to discover both
positive and negative effects of nanoparticles on plants. Therefore, for assessing
toxicity and trophic transport of nanoparticles, an indepth understanding of plant
interactions with the nanoparticles is very important. Recently, Sabo-Attwood et al.
(
2011
) reported that gold nanoparticles, AuNPs, enter plants through size-depen-
dent mechanisms, translocate to cells and tissues and cause biotoxicity. We also
need to be very careful of the presence of engineered nanoparticles in our environ-
ment which may be of potential risk to the ecosystem. Recently, Dey et al. (
2011
)
have studied the effect of nanomullite (NMu) and their metal-amended derivatives
on the growth of mung bean plants and found that the metal-amended NMu exerts
adverse effects on the growth and biomass production of plants compared to NMu.
The plant system can also be used to test the phytotoxicity of the nanoparticles
as Ma et al. (
2010
) have investigated the phytotoxicity of four rare earth oxide
nanoparticles—nano-CeO(2), nano-La(2)O(3), nano-Gd(2)O(3) and nano-Yb(2)
O(3)—on seven higher plant species (radish, rape, tomato, lettuce, wheat, cabbage
and cucumber) by means of root elongation experiments. Their results were helpful
in understanding phytotoxicity of rare earth oxide nanoparticles (Ma et al.
2010
).
Recently, the phytotoxic and genotoxic effects of ZnO nanoparticles on garlic
(
Allium sativum
L.) have also been reported (Shaymurat et al.
2011
).
Can metal nanoparticles be a threat to microbial decomposers of plant litter in
streams is a big question for which we need to be worried. Recently, Pradhan et al.
(
2011
) have suggested that the extensive use of nanometal-based products can in-
crease the chance of their release into aquatic environments, which can pose a risk
to aquatic biota and the associated ecological processes. If there is a possibility to
distribute and guide the well functionalized nanoparticles all over the plant vascular
