Nanoparticles and Plant Interaction with Respect to Stress Response
Mohammed Shariq Iqbal, Akhilesh Kumar Singh, Satarudra Prakash Singh, Mohammad Israil Ansari
Abstract
Abiotic stresses are very important constraints that adversely affect the production of a crop. Plants are sessile organisms that are exposed to environmental variations and various stress factors throughout their life. Plants handle these stress conditions and develop various mechanisms to counteract adverse conditions. Nanotechnology is an emerging new field of sciences with novel ideas for understanding the appropriate mechanisms of plant stress. In nanobiotechnology, ultrafine particles ranging in size from 1 to 100 nm are used. During plant stress, antioxidant enzymes are significant in the defense mechanism against reactive oxygen species (ROS). Exposure with nanoparticles has reported improved antioxidant potential for stress tolerance of plants by enhancing free radical scavenging activity. The ultrafine nanoparticles penetrate the body of the plant in a size-dependent mechanism and then are translocated to the grown plant. Nanobiotechnology and nanoparticles impact the plant system for development of plant growth as well as ROS scavenging potential. Nanoparticles that are synthesized from plants are environmentally friendly as well as economical for research work. In this chapter, we discuss plant stress tolerance against the mechanistic action of nanoparticles, leading to better plant growth and plant yields under stress conditions.