Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 11;12(2):343.
doi: 10.3390/plants12020343.

Phytotoxic Action of Silver Nanoparticles on Lemna minor: Multi-Parameter Analysis of Different Physiological Processes

Katarina Glavaš Ljubimir  1 , Ana-Marija Domijan  2 , Sandra Radić Brkanac  3
Affiliations

Phytotoxic Action of Silver Nanoparticles on Lemna minor: Multi-Parameter Analysis of Different Physiological Processes

Katarina Glavaš Ljubimir et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Considering the widespread use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and their consequent build-up in waterways, there is a concern about the hazardous effect of AgNPs for aquatic ecosystems. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism of the action of AgNPs on duckweed (Lemna minor L.) by evaluating multiple parameters in different physiological processes. Duckweed was treated with AgNPs in a concentration range of 0.5 to 5 mg/L over a 7-day period. The analysis revealed that the AgNP-treated duckweed accumulated Ag in accordance with increasing AgNP concentrations. Furthermore, higher concentrations (2 and 5 mg/L) of AgNPs negatively affected N, P and especially K and Mg levels in the plant tissue. Accordingly, the plant growth and photosynthetic parameters were more inhibited in response to higher concentrations of AgNPs. Nanosilver significantly increased the generation of ROS at higher concentrations, although lipid peroxidation was significant even at the lowest concentration of AgNPs. However, defense mechanisms were able to counteract AgNP-induced oxidative stress and balance the intracellular redox status, as evidenced by increased activities of the main detoxification enzymes. With this experimental setting, AgNPs exhibited a relatively weak phytotoxicity at 0.5 and 1 mg/L; nevertheless, silver in a nano form poses a hazard for plants, considering its continuous release into aquatic environments.

Keywords: antioxidative enzyme; glutathione; malondialdehyde; nanosilver; photosystem II.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ag content (A) and FN- or FW-based relative growth rate (RGR) (B) in duckweed after a 7-day treatment with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in a concentration range of 0.5–5 mg/L or in control plants (C). Standard deviations are presented by error bars. Different letters indicate significantly different values at p < 0.05 according to an ANOVA.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) (A), malondialdehyde (MDA) and carbonyls (C=O) (B) in duckweed after a 7-day treatment with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in a concentration range of 0.5–5 mg/L or in control plants (C). Standard deviations are presented by error bars. Different letters indicate significantly different values at p < 0.05 according to an ANOVA.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic depiction of putative action of AgNPs in plant cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Khan I., Saeed K., Khan I. Nanoparticles: Properties, applications and toxicities. Arab. J. Chem. 2019;12:908–931. doi: 10.1016/j.arabjc.2017.05.011. - DOI
    1. Lekamge S., Miranda A.F., Abraham A., Li V., Shukla R., Bansal V., Nugegoda D. The toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to three freshwater invertebrates with different life strategies: Hydra vulgaris, Daphnia carinata, and Paratya australiensis. Front. Environ. Sci. 2018;6:152. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2018.00152. - DOI
    1. Angel B.M., Batley G.E., Jarolimek C.V., Rogers N.J. The impact of size on the fate and toxicity of nanoparticulate silver in aquatic systems. Chemosphere. 2013;93:359–365. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.04.096. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McShan D., Ray P.C., Yu H. Molecular toxicity mechanism of nanosilver. J. Food Drug. Anal. 2014;22:116–127. doi: 10.1016/j.jfda.2014.01.010. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cvjetko P., Milošić A., Domijan A.M., Vinković-Vrček I., Tolić S., Peharec Štefanić P., Letofsky-Papst I., Tkalec M., Balen B. Toxicity of silver ions and differently coated silver nanoparticles in Allium cepa roots. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Safe. 2017;137:18–28. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2016.11.009. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources