Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Can Promote Root Hair Development Through Nitric Oxide and Ethylene Pathways
September 2020
in “
Research Square (Research Square)
”
TLDR Multi-walled carbon nanotubes can enhance plant root hair growth by affecting nitric oxide and ethylene production.
In 2020, a study found that multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) could stimulate plant root hair growth at appropriate concentrations. The research showed that MWCNTs could enter rapeseed root cells and significantly stimulate nitrate reductase (NR)-dependent nitric oxide (NO) and ethylene syntheses, which are crucial for root hair formation. The transcription of root hair growth-related genes was also modulated by MWCNTs. However, the removal of endogenous NO and ethylene or the presence of certain ethylene-insensitive and nitric reductase defective mutants impaired MWCNTs-triggered root hair growth. The study concluded that MWCNTs could promote root hair growth through NR-dependent NO and ethylene pathways, with ethylene potentially acting downstream of NO. This suggested a potential use for CNTs in agriculture.
