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. 2021 Jun 10;10(6):1187.
doi: 10.3390/plants10061187.

Influence of GdVO4:Eu3+ Nanocrystals on Growth, Germination, Root Cell Viability and Oxidative Stress of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Seedlings

Anna Ekner-Grzyb  1 , Jagna Chmielowska-Bąk  1 , Agata Szczeszak  2
Affiliations

Influence of GdVO4:Eu3+ Nanocrystals on Growth, Germination, Root Cell Viability and Oxidative Stress of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Seedlings

Anna Ekner-Grzyb et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

The increasing application of lanthanide-doped nanocrystals (LDNCs) entails the risk of a harmful impact on the natural environment. Therefore, in the presented study the influence of gadolinium orthovanadates doped with Eu3+ (GdVO4:Eu3) nanocrystals on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), chosen as a model plant species, was investigated. The seeds were grown in Petri dishes filled with colloids of LDNCs at the concentrations of 0, 10, 50 and 100 µg/mL. The plants' growth endpoints (number of roots, roots length, roots mass, hypocotyl length and hypocotyl mass) and germination rate were not significantly changed after the exposure to GdVO4:Eu3+ nanocrystals at all used concentrations. The presence of LDNCs also had no effect on oxidative stress intensity, which was determined on the basis of the amount of lipid peroxidation product (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances; TBARS) in the roots. Similarly, TTC (tetrazolium chloride) assay did not show any differences in cells' viability. However, root cells of the treated seedlings contained less Evans Blue (EB) when compared to the control. The obtained results, on the one hand, suggest that GdVO4:Eu3+ nanocrystals are safe for plants in the tested concentrations, while on the other hand they indicate that LDNCs may interfere with the functioning of the root cell membrane.

Keywords: cell viability; lanthanide-doped nanoparticles; lipid peroxidation; nanotoxicology; phytotoxicity; vascular plants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
DLS analysis of the GdVO4:Eu3+ NPs (a). Photographs presenting the colloidal GdVO4:Eu3+ NPs in daylight (left) and under 254 nm UV light excitation (right) (b).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of roots (a), root length (b), hypocotyl length (c), root mass (d), hypocotyl mass (e) and germination rate (f) of wheat, treated for 3 days with the GdVO4:Eu3+ NPs at concentrations: 0, 10, 50 and 100 µg/mL. The results are presented as mean ± SE.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Lipid peroxidation of wheat cells, treated for 3 days with the GdVO4:Eu3+ NPs at concentrations: 0, 10, 50 and 100 µg/mL. The results are presented as mean ± SE.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cell viability of wheat exposed for 3 days to GdVO4:Eu3+ NPs at concentrations: 0, 10, 50 and 100 µg/mL, determined by TTC (a) and Blue Evans (b) staining assays. Asterisks (*) indicate statistically significant differences between the samples exposed to NPs and the control, Tukey’s test (* p < 0.05 level, ** p < 0.01 level). The results are presented as mean ± SE.
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