Nanoparticles and their crosstalk with stress mitigators: A novel approach towards abiotic stress tolerance in agricultural systems
Ali Raza Khan,
Abdul Salam,
Guanlin Li,
Babar Iqbal,
Zaid Ulhassan,
Qunlu Liu,
Wardah Azhar,
Fiza Liaquat,
Iftikhar Hussain Shah,
Syed Shams ul Hassan,
Daolin Du
Affiliations
Ali Raza Khan
School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China
Abdul Salam
Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology of the Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China
Guanlin Li
School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, Jiangsu, China; Corresponding authors.
Babar Iqbal
School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China
Zaid Ulhassan
Zhejiang Key Lab of Crop Germplasm, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang, China
Qunlu Liu
Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Wardah Azhar
Zhejiang Key Lab of Crop Germplasm, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang, China; Corresponding authors.
Fiza Liaquat
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Iftikhar Hussain Shah
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Syed Shams ul Hassan
Department of Natural Product Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Daolin Du
Jingjiang College, Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Emergency Management, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China; Corresponding authors.
Plants are exposed to adverse environmental conditions, including cold, drought, heat, salinity, and heavy metals, which negatively impact plant growth and productivity of edible crops worldwide. Although the previous literature summarized the nanoparticle’s involvement in abiotic stress mitigation, the interaction of nanoparticles with other stress mitigators to overcome abiotic stress from plants remains unclear. Currently, nanotechnology is considered a growing new field in agriculture for understanding plants’ adapted stress tolerance mechanisms. Recent research has shown that nanoparticles can effectively mitigate abiotic stress by interacting synergistically with plant growth regulators. To address this, we comprehensively demonstrated the combined positive potential of nanoparticles in combination with plant growth regulators (signaling molecules, phytohormones, nanoparticles-nanoparticles interaction, fungi, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and other metal salts) to improve plant growth and mitigate abiotic stresses. Their co-applications augment the plant’s growth, nutrient uptake, antioxidant defense system, water absorption, cell viability, water use efficiency, and photosynthetic and biochemical attributes by reducing oxidative stressors under various abiotic stresses in different plant species. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the combined applications of nanoparticles and plant growth regulators, a novel strategy to reduce the harmful effects of abiotic stress on plants. It identifies research gaps and recommends future studies to overcome their phytotoxicity worldwide.
