Comparative study of plant responses to carbon-based nanomaterials with different morphologies

Mohamed H. Lahiani, Enkeleda Dervishi, Ilia Ivanov, Jihua Chen, Mariya Khodakovskaya

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

87 Scopus citations

Abstract

The relationship between the morphology of carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) and the specific response of plants exposed to CBNs has not been studied systematically. Here, we prove that CBNs with different morphologies can activate cell growth, germination, and plant growth. A tobacco cell culture growth was found to increase by 22%-46% when CBNs such as helical multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), few-layered graphene, long MWCNTs, and short MWCNTs were added to the growth medium at a concentration of 50 μg ml-1. The germination of exposed tomato seeds, as well as the growth of exposed tomato seedlings, were significantly enhanced by the addition of all tested CBNs. The presence of CBNs inside exposed seeds was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The effects of helical MWCNTs on gene expression in tomato seeds and seedlings were investigated by microarray technology and real time-PCR. Helical MWCNTs affected a number of genes involved in cellular and metabolic processes and response to stress factors. It was shown that the expression of the tomato water channel gene in tomato seeds exposed to helical MWCNTs was upregulated. These established findings demonstrate that CBNs with different morphologies can cause the same biological effects and share similar mechanisms in planta.

Original languageEnglish
Article number265102
JournalNanotechnology
Volume27
Issue number26
DOIs
StatePublished - May 19 2016

Keywords

  • aquaporin gene expression
  • carbon-based nanomaterials
  • germination
  • properties of carbon nanomaterials
  • tomato seeds
  • uptake of carbon nanotubes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Comparative study of plant responses to carbon-based nanomaterials with different morphologies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this