Ameliorating the Adverse Effects of <i>Tomato mosaic tobamovirus</i> Infecting Tomato Plants in Egypt by Boosting Immunity in Tomato Plants Using Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles
Ahmed R. Sofy,
Mahmoud R. Sofy,
Ahmed A. Hmed,
Rehab A. Dawoud,
Abd El-Aleem M. Alnaggar,
Ahmed M. Soliman,
Noha K. El-Dougdoug
Affiliations
Ahmed R. Sofy
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, Egypt
Mahmoud R. Sofy
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, Egypt
Ahmed A. Hmed
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, Egypt
Rehab A. Dawoud
Virus and Phytoplasma Research Department, Plant Pathology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza 12619, Egypt
Abd El-Aleem M. Alnaggar
Agriculture Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, Egypt
Ahmed M. Soliman
Virus and Phytoplasma Research Department, Plant Pathology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza 12619, Egypt
Noha K. El-Dougdoug
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Benha 13518, Egypt
Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) is one of the economically damageable Tobamovirus infecting the tomato in Egypt that has caused significant losses. It is therefore of great interest to trigger systemic resistance to ToMV. In this endeavor, we aimed to explore the capacity of ZnO-NPs (zinc oxide nanoparticles) to trigger tomato plant resistance against ToMV. Effects of ZnO-NPs on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth indices and antioxidant defense system activity under ToMV stress were investigated. Noticeably that treatment with ZnO-NPs showed remarkably increased growth indices, photosynthetic attributes, and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants compared to the challenge control. Interestingly, oxidative damage caused by ToMV was reduced by reducing malondialdehyde, H2O2, and O2 levels. Overall, ZnO-NPs offer a safe and economic antiviral agent against ToMV.
