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Novel carbon nanoparticles derived from Bougainvillea modulate vegetative growth via auxin–cytokinin signaling in Arabidopsis

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We present a green synthesis method of producing blue fluorescence emitting carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) through a simple and cost-effective single-step hydrothermal reaction. The synthesis utilized bract extracts and pollen grains from three Bougainvillea species: B. spectabilis, B. alba, and B. buttiana. The CNPs exhibited photoluminescence, with the highest emission observed in the ultraviolet region. Atomic force microscopy analysis revealed that the size of synthesized CNPs ranged from 23 to 83 nm. Fourier transform infrared analysis provided a comprehensive understanding of the CNP’s surface functional groups, with carbon being the predominant group. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of the synthesized CNPs. Zeta potential measurements indicated that the particles carried a negative charge, suggesting their colloidal stability. In experiments conducted with Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings, CNPs derived from B. alba pollen grains (Ba-POL) were found to promote leaf area expansion while simultaneously inhibiting primary root growth. In presence of 10 nM IAA, Ba-POL CNP treated seedlings displayed a significant reduction in primary root growth. RT-PCR analysis revealed substantial changes in the expression of auxin response genes in presence of Ba-POL CNP. Cytokinin levels were enhanced in the seedlings in the presence of Ba-POL CNP, as revealed increased expression of cytokinin reporter TCS::GFP. Our findings underscore the potential application of these novel CNPs in modulation of plant growth through its effects on auxin–cytokinin signaling.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar for the internship opportunity for RB and the post-doctoral fellowship to NG. This work was supported by a DBT Ramalingaswamy Re-entry fellowship Grant and a start-up grant from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar to SS. We also thank Dr. Kalika Prasad (IISER Pune) for the TCS::GFP seeds.

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  1. Raviraj B. Barot and Nilesh D. Gawande have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Shri Alpesh N. Patel Postgraduate Institute of Science and Research, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Gujarat, 388120, India

    Raviraj B. Barot

  2. Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat, 382355, India

    Raviraj B. Barot, Nilesh D. Gawande, Charli Kaushal, Subhojit Ghosh, Dhiraj Bhatia & Subramanian Sankaranarayanan

  3. Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382030, India

    Satya Omprabha

  4. Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382355, India

    Jhuma Saha

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  1. Raviraj B. Barot
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Contributions

SS conceived and designed the research. RB synthesized and characterized the CNPs, and NG assisted in the characterization of CNPs. RB, SO, and CK performed experiments on the effect of CNPs on the leaf area and root growth in A. thaliana. RB and NG performed RT-PCR and root growth assay for Auxin. SG assisted in characterizing CNP-treated Plant growth assay confocal microscopy analysis. SS supervised the experiments. NG and SS analyzed the data. RB wrote the manuscript, and NG and SS proofread and edited the manuscript. JS and DB provided technical suggestions for experiments and shared reagents. All authors read, discussed, and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Subramanian Sankaranarayanan.

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Barot, R.B., Gawande, N.D., Omprabha, S. et al. Novel carbon nanoparticles derived from Bougainvillea modulate vegetative growth via auxin–cytokinin signaling in Arabidopsis. Chem. Pap. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-024-03421-6

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