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Exploring the role of green synthesized cerium nanoparticles in enhancing wheat's drought tolerance: a comprehensive study of biochemical parameters and gene expression

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Abstract

One of the primary causes restricting wheat output is drought, which is turning into an increasingly serious issue in many of the world's wheat-growing countries. Through the investigation of biochemical parameters and gene expression analysis, the current study examined the impact of foliar application of green synthesized cerium nanoparticles (Ce NPs) in mitigating drought stress on wheat development. For the experimental investigation, two irrigation regimes (100% SMC and 50% SMC) and four distinct Ce NP concentrations (25 ppm, 50 ppm, 75 ppm, and 100 ppm) were employed. We found that applying Ce NPs topically increased wheat plants' overall capacity to withstand drought. Among the different concentrations used, the foliar application with 50-ppm Ce NPs substantially increased the antioxidant enzyme activity, proline content, relative water content, and all photosynthetic matrices under drought stress conditions, in comparison with the control. Ce NPs treatment also lowered the hydrogen peroxide (50.53%) and malondialdehyde amounts (22.79%) under drought stress. To substantiate the impact of Ce NPs at the molecular level, we also examined the gene expression of five stress-related genes (MYB33, MYB3R, DREB2, ABC1, and SnRK2.4) and observed their upregulated expression after Ce NPs treatment under drought stress conditions. These results demonstrate the use of Ce NPs as a new strategy to mitigate the detrimental effects of drought stress in wheat.

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Illustrating the role of Ce NPs in mitigating drought stress in plants through biochemical and molecular regulation (created in BioRenders.com)

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. Supplementary data (if any) can be made available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to the Central Instrumentation Laboratory (CIL), Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Haryana, India, for providing FTIR facility. Additionally, the authors thank SAIF, AIIMS, New Delhi, for providing the SEM/TEM facility.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bio & NanoTechnology, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar, Haryana, 125001, India

    Rekha Boora, Neelam Rani, Santosh Kumari & Sapna Grewal

  2. Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, SGT University, Gurugram, Haryana, 122006, India

    Sonia Goel

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science & Technology, Murthal, Sonepat, Haryana, India

    Aditi Arya

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  1. Rekha Boora
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by SG, RB, and NR. The first draft of the manuscript was written by RB and SG. Reviewing and editing was done by SG, SG, SK, and AA. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sapna Grewal.

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Communicated by Tibor Janda.

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Boora, R., Rani, N., Kumari, S. et al. Exploring the role of green synthesized cerium nanoparticles in enhancing wheat's drought tolerance: a comprehensive study of biochemical parameters and gene expression. CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42976-024-00493-8

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