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| Effects of zinc oxide nanoparticle application in soil on earthworm physiology and cucumber seedling growth |
| Received:September 15, 2020 |
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| KeyWord:zinc oxide nanoparticles;earthworms;cucumber seedlings;oxidative stress;zinc content |
| Author Name | Affiliation | E-mail | | YANG Jing-ya | Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangling 712100, China
College of Resources and Environmental Science, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China | | | FU Qian | College of Resources and Environmental Science, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China | | | ZHANG Hao-yue | College of Resources and Environmental Science, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China | | | PENG Qing-qing | College of Resources and Environmental Science, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China | | | ZHONG Min-zheng | College of Resources and Environmental Science, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China | | | MAO Hui | Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangling 712100, China
College of Resources and Environmental Science, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China | maohui@nwsuaf.edu.cn |
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| Abstract: |
| Zinc oxide nanoparticles(ZnO NPs) are widely used in various industries owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. While they have tremendous benefits, they also carry potential risks, such as cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. In the soil environment, ZnO NPs may pose a severe threat to organisms in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, a pot experiment was used to evaluate the effects of ZnO NPs on earthworm physiology and cucumber seedling growth. The results showed that the ZnO NPs in each treatment had no significant effects on earthworms' growth and development. However, as concentration increased, the antioxidant enzyme activity in earthworms was altered. SOD showed an increasing trend. CAT and POD first decreased and then increased, indicating a synergistic effect. When the ZnO NPs treatment was 1 000 mg·kg-1, earthworms suffered the most oxidative stress, and the MDA content increased by 19.2% compared with the control. For cucumber seedlings, ZnO NPs treatment exacerbated plant oxidative stress. Except that SOD was inhibited at 1 000 mg·kg-1, SOD, CAT, POD, and MDA all increased with an increase in ZnO NPs concentration. The addition of earthworms could significantly promote seedling growth, including increasing biomass and improving root vigor. Simultaneously, earthworms could alleviate or inhibit the damage caused by ZnO NPs to plants to a certain extent. When ZnO NPs were applied at 500 mg·kg-1 and 1 000 mg·kg-1, SOD was reduced by 76.7% and 63.5%, and MDA was reduced by 28.6% and 23.7%, respectively. During the 28-day culture cycle, the earthworms had a low response to ZnO NPs, and the zinc content in the earthworms tissues did not change significantly. The zinc content of above and belowground parts of cucumber seedlings increased with increasing treatment concentration. In contrast, the treatment combined with earthworms reduced the plants' zinc content, reflecting the regulation and alleviation of cucumber seedling growth under stress conditions by earthworms. |
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