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How polystyrene nanoparticles and cadmium affect the growth, physiology, metabolic and ionomic profile of early-stage wheat seedlings individually and in combination
Summary
Researchers exposed two wheat cultivars to polystyrene nanoplastics and cadmium individually and in combination, finding the combined exposure caused the greatest oxidative stress, metabolic disruption, and ionomic imbalance, while one cultivar (HS-490) showed consistently better tolerance across all stress conditions.
In recent years, there has been a surge in studies investigating the phytotoxicity of NPs on crop plants. However, there is a considerable knowledge gap on crucial aspects like their interaction with other environmental contaminants, such as HMs, and their combined effect in plants. Many recent studies highlight the adsorbing property of nanoplastics (NPs) that may amplify their ability to exert toxic effects on plants. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study was designed to compare the differential response of two wheat cultivars, i.e., HS-562 and HS-490 (7 d seedlings), under individual and combined treatments of Cd and PSNPs. The maximum seed germination inhibition was observed under PSNPs exposure in both cultivars; however, HS-490 performed slightly better than HS-562. Whereas the maximum stress response, as indicated by parameters such as MDA content and antioxidative enzyme activities, was observed in Cd and combined PSNPs + Cd treatments in both cultivars. Similar to seed germination, HS-490 exhibited better adaptation under stress conditions compared to HS-562, also in terms of seedling growth. Furthermore, GC-MS analyses were performed to reveal the underlying differential metabolic alterations and responses of both cultivars at the metabolic level. In both cultivars, the stress-related metabolites were upregulated to the maximum extent due to PSNPs + Cd exposure; however, no cultivar-specific patterns were observed. Ionomic profiling was performed using ICP-MS to understand the effect of the studied treatments on essential elements concentrations. In both cultivars, the concentrations of Na, K, and Ca, among other elements, decreased under stress, accompanied by an increase in Fe and Zn levels. This indicates the disruption in ionomic homeostasis in both cultivars. This study offers valuable insights into the impact of the coexistence of PNSPs and Cd on wheat seedlings, while also highlighting cultivar-specific differences in stress-mitigating strategies at physiological, metabolic, and ionomic levels.
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