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Effect of silver nanoparticles on free amino acids content and antioxidant defense system of tomato plants

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Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the contents of free amino acids, protein, lipid peroxidation (MDA) and antioxidant enzymes activity, viz., superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX) in tomato plants. For this purpose 20 nm size AgNPs in five different concentrations, viz., 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg l−1 were used. The experiments were carried out by high performance liquid chromatography reverse phase (RP-HPLC) with C-18 column. Amino acid analysis by HPLC graphs revealed that all the amino acids except two amino acids, viz, methionine and tryptophan exhibited a linear increase with the increase in concentration of silver nano-particles in tomato plants. The greater increases in amino acids content were observed at 75 and 100 mg l−1 concentrations. Among the different amino acids, greatest increases were observed in glutamine and asparagine, with increases being 8 and 6 times higher than the control. A remarkable decrease in total soluble protein was observed with increase in concentration of AgNPs. Activities of SOD, CAT and POX increased significantly in both shoots and roots of treated tomato plants, though SOD activity declined significantly in the roots at 100 mg l−1 concentration. Also enhanced malondialdehyde content indicated the oxidative stress induced by AgNPs. It seems that the increase in protein degradation, resulting in amino acid contents, and antioxidant enzymes activity are strategies to modulate oxidative stress induced by AgNPs in tomato plants.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Mrs. Sepideh Tarbali for her assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

    Saeed Karami Mehrian, Reza Heidari & Fatemeh Rahmani

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  1. Saeed Karami Mehrian
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  2. Reza Heidari
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  3. Fatemeh Rahmani
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Correspondence to Saeed Karami Mehrian.

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Karami Mehrian, S., Heidari, R. & Rahmani, F. Effect of silver nanoparticles on free amino acids content and antioxidant defense system of tomato plants. Ind J Plant Physiol. 20, 257–263 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-015-0171-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-015-0171-6

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