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Alleviating Microplastic and Cadmium Stress in Rice (Oryza sativa L.), Role of Molybdenum Disulfide, Zinc Oxide, and Selenium–Nanoparticles in Morpho–Physio–Biochemical Traits
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Researchers tested whether molybdenum disulfide, zinc oxide, and selenium nanoparticles could protect rice seedlings from combined microplastic and cadmium stress, finding that all three nanoparticle types significantly improved plant growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant defenses while reducing oxidative damage caused by the dual contaminant exposure.
Due to the rapid increase in industrial and urban areas, environmental pollution is increasing worldwide, which is causing unwanted changes in air, water, and soil at biological, physical, as well as chemical levels that ultimately result in negative effects on living organisms due to the toxic levels of microplastics (MPs) and cadmium (Cd). However, nanotechnology is capturing great interest worldwide due to their stirring applications in various fields. For this purpose, a pot experiment was conducted to examine plant growth and eco-physiology in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings under the toxic level of microplastic (0, 2, 4 mg L⁻¹) and Cd (0, 100, 200 mg kg⁻¹) stress which were also primed with different nanoparticles (NPs) MoS₂ (molybdenum disulfide), ZnO (zinc oxide), and Se (selenium)–NPs. The research outcomes indicated that the toxic concentration of MPs and Cd notably reduced plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, and gas exchange attributes. However, increasing level of MPs and Cd stress also induced oxidative stress in the plants by increasing malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which also induced increased compounds of various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants and also the gene expression and sugar content. Furthermore, a significant increase in proline metabolism, the AsA–GSH cycle, and the pigmentation of cellular components was observed. Although, the application of MoS₂, ZnO and Se–NPs showed a significant increase in plant growth and biomass, gas exchange characteristics, enzymatic and non-enzymatic compounds, and their gene expression and also decreased oxidative stress. In addition, the application of MoS₂, ZnO, and Se–NPs enhanced cellular fractionation and decreased the proline metabolism and AsA − GSH cycle in O. sativa seedlings. Research findings, therefore, suggest that the application of MoS₂, ZnO, and Se–NPs can ameliorate Cd and MPs toxicity in O. sativa, resulting in improved plant growth and composition under metal stress, as depicted by balanced antioxidant defense mechanism.
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