Zinc oxide nanoparticles are one of the most commonly engineered nanomaterials and necessarily enter the environment because of the large quantities produced and their widespread application. Understanding the impacts of nanoparticles on plant growth and development is crucial for the assessment of probable environmental risks to food safety and human health, because plants are a fundamental living component of the ecosystem and the most important source in the human food chain. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of different concentrations of zinc oxide nanoparticles on barley Hordeum vulgare L. seed germination, seedling morphology, root cell viability, stress level, genotoxicity, and expression of miRNAs. The results demonstrate that zinc oxide nanoparticles enhance barley seed germination, shoot/root elongation, and H₂O₂ stress level and decrease root cell viability and genomic template stability and up- and downregulated miRNAs in barley seedlings.

Sustainable agricultural practices are still essential due to soil degradation and crop losses. Recently, the relationship between plants and nanoparticles (NPs) attracted scientists’ attention, especially for applications in agricultural production as nanonutrition. Therefore, the present research was carried out to investigate the effect of Fe₃O₄ NPs at low concentrations (0, 1, 10, and 20 mg/L) on three genotypes of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seedlings grown in hydroponic conditions. Significant increases in seedling growth, enhanced chlorophyll quality and quantity, and two miRNA expression levels were observed. Additionally, increased genotoxicity was observed in seedlings grown with NPs. Generally, Fe₃O₄ NPs at low concentrations could be successfully used as nanonutrition for increasing barley photosynthetic efficiency with consequently enhanced yield. These results are important for a better understanding of the potential impact of Fe₃O₄ NPs at low concentrations in agricultural crops and the potential of these NPs as nanonutrition for barley growth and yield enhancement. Future studies are needed to investigate the effect of these NPs on the expression of resistance-related genes and chlorophyll synthesis-related gene expression in treated barley seedlings.

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) have an influence on plant growth and development. They can alter plant shoot and root length, fresh biomass production, and even influence the genome. Nanoparticles are also able to affect expression levels of plant microRNAs. MicroRNAs are able to protect plants from biotic stress, including pathogens which cause powdery mildew. In this study, Hordeum vulgare L. varieties Marthe and KWS Olof were grown in hydroponics with magnetic iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) and copper oxide (CuO) NPs added at 17, 35, and 70mg/L. Plant morphology, genotoxicity, and expression of miR156a were investigated. The Fe₃O₄ and CuO NPs demonstrated different effects on the barley varieties, namely, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles increased plant shoot and root lengths and fresh biomass, while CuO nanoparticles decreased them. CuO NPs presence caused larger changes on barley genome compared to Fe₃O₄ NPs. Thus, Fe₃O₄ NPs reduced genome stability to 72 in the Marthe variety and to 76.34 in the KWS Olof variety, while CuO NPs reduced genome stability to 53.33 in Marthe variety and in the KWS Olof variety to 68.81. The miR156a expression levels after Fe₃O₄ NPs treatment did not change in the Marthe variety, but increased in the KWS Olof variety, while CuO NPs treatment increased miRNA expression levels in the Marthe variety but decrease them in the KWS Olof variety. As NPs are able to influence miRNA expression and miRNAs can affect the plant resistance, obtained results suggest that tested NPs may alter plant resistance response to pathogens.

The size of nanoparticles (NPs) allows them to accumulate in plants, and they affect plant growth by altering the size of leaves and roots and affecting their photosynthetic reactions by altering the composition of proteins in the electron transport chain, chlorophyll biosynthesis, and carbohydrate synthesis reactions. Plants play an important role on Earth as nutrient producers in all trophic food webs by producing oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, and synthesizing edible carbohydrates during photosynthesis. In this study, Fe₃O₄ and ZnO NPs at various concentrations (0, 1, 2, and 4mg/l) were used to investigate the effect of NPs on plant morphological parameters and photosynthesis intensity, determining the amount of chlorophyll and the absorption of their light spectrum in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Fe₃O₄ (25nm, 2mg/l, and 4mg/l) and ZnO (32nm, 4mg/l) significantly increased the leaf length of common wheat seedlings. However, Fe₃O₄ NPs (25nm, 1mg/l, and 4mg/l) significantly reduced light absorption at 645 and 663nm and the content of chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a, and total chlorophyll, but Fe₃O₄ (25nm, 2mg/l) significantly reduced the chlorophyll a content. In addition, ZnO NPs (32nm, 1mg/l) significantly increased the chlorophyll b content. This study has made a major contribution to understanding the effect of low concentrations of NPs on plant seedlings. Currently, NPs with high concentrations, starting at 10mg/l, have been analysed in other studies, but in the environment, NPs enter plants in low concentrations as dust or through water droplets. Therefore, it is important to determine the potential impact of small concentrations of NPs on crops that are important for agriculture.

The genotoxic effect of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdS NPs) of different sizes in rucola (Eruca sativa Mill.) plants was assessed. It was confirmed that nanoparticles < 5 nm in size were more toxic than larger particles at an identical mass concentration. Significant differences in cell ploidy, as well as in the mitotic index, were detected between control and treated samples. Differences in the DNA banding pattern between control samples and samples after treatment with cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were significant and detected at different places as the appearance or elimination of DNA fragments. Fluorescence images showed that cadmium sulfide nanoparticles smaller than 5 nm in size can diffuse through the membrane and their presence affects the genetic system of the plant.

Biological synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) using alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and other plants has several advantages such as lower costs, reduction of pollution, and improvement of the environment and human health. Often, biosynthesis is used to synthesize Ag, Au, and ZnO NPs. Less often are also synthesized Cu and Fe NPs. Synthesis with plant extracts from their parts or callus cultures is a widely used method since extracts contain the most significant number of biomolecules. Synthesis with living plants (in vivo) provides NPs with improved properties for better interactions with plants but is used less often due to the long realization time, the need to control the plants growing conditions, and difficulty in controlling the size and shape of the synthesized NPs. Here, we performed a systematic review of various methods for the biological synthesis of different metal NPs with different plants, to highlight advantages and disadvantages of mentioned methods. For discussion, results showed that biosynthesis of NPs allows obtaining NPs with reduced toxicity, and their size and shape depend on the type and number of biomolecules present in plants. Plant biomolecules determine the antibacterial and anticancer properties of NPs, as well as increasing the use of NPs in biomedicine, for better drug transport, therefore medicinal plants or sea plants are mostly used for biosynthesis. NPs which were synthesized in marine plants could be a very effective agent against water bacteria; therefore, if NP biosynthesis takes place in water, biological water purification is possible. Limitations of the study included a great methodological diversity of the synthesis, it is still difficult to systematize the synthesis methods, and it seems that each described study uses a different synthesis protocol; therefore, in future studies, it is necessary to clarify which method can provide the most efficient biosynthesis and develop a unified approach.