Chapter 6 - Physiological and molecular responses of plants exposed to engineered nanomaterials

Abstract

Food supply for the increased world population has primarily relied on agricultural goods. Nevertheless, crops are under pressure from abiotic and biotic stressors such as drought, high temperatures, pests, and very recently, nanomaterial accumulation in soils. Ensuring a rise in food production in the following years will be very challenging as it needs to be achieved amid lesser arable lands, water deficits, and a reduction in fertilizer use. Nanotechnology is evolving as a promising technology in agriculture production. This chapter evaluates the positive and negative impacts that engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have on plants, primarily at the gene response levels. First, a particular effort was made to summarize the outcomes of using ENMs in combating plant diseases. Then, recent microscopy studies are discussed toward gaining insights into the plant molecular changes after being exposed to ENMs. Finally, we assessed the enzymatic activities in plants treated with ENMs and discussed recent spectroscopic studies to evaluate plants' protein changes.