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Foliar application with nano-silicon alleviates Cd toxicity in rice seedlings

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Abstract

Nanofertilizers may be more effective than regular fertilizers in improving plant nutrition, enhancing nutrition use efficiency, and protecting plants from environmental stress. A hydroponic pot experiment was conducted to study the role of foliar application with 2.5 mM nano-silicon in alleviating Cd stress in rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L. cv Youyou 128) grown in solution added with or without 20 μM CdCl2. The results showed that Cd treatment decreased the growth and the contents of Mg, Fe, Zn, chlorophyll a, and glutathione (GSH), accompanied by a significant increase in Cd accumulation. However, foliar application with nano-Si improved the growth, Mg, Fe, and Zn nutrition, and the contents of chlorophyll a of the rice seedlings under Cd stress and decreased Cd accumulation and translocation of Cd from root to shoot. Cd treatment produced oxidative stress to rice seedlings indicated by a higher lipid peroxidation level (as malondialdehyde (MDA)) and higher activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), and a lower GSH content. However, those nano-Si-treated plants had lower MDA but higher GSH content and different antioxidant enzyme activities, indicating a higher Cd tolerance in them. The results suggested that nano-Si application alleviated Cd toxicity in rice by decreasing Cd accumulation, Cd partitioning in shoot and MDA level and by increasing content of some mineral elements (Mg, Fe, and Zn) and antioxidant capacity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41171369), Program for Science & Technology Innovation Talents in Universities of Henan Province (2012HASTIT014), and the Foundation for University Key Youth Teachers of Henan Province (2012GGJS-079), and the Talent Foundation of Henan University of Science and Technology (09001321).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural College, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, Henan Province, 471003, People’s Republic of China

    Shihua Wang, Fayuan Wang & Shuangcheng Gao

  2. College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Shihua Wang

  3. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Fayuan Wang

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  1. Shihua Wang
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  2. Fayuan Wang
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  3. Shuangcheng Gao
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Correspondence to Fayuan Wang.

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Wang, S., Wang, F. & Gao, S. Foliar application with nano-silicon alleviates Cd toxicity in rice seedlings. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 2837–2845 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3525-0

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