Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:This project is investigating nanoscale sulfur as a novel multifunctional agricultural amendment toenhance crop yield, suppress disease, and improve food safety by reducing heavy metal uptake. Thetarget audience includes growers, regulators, agrochemical companies, as well as scientistsinvestigating food safety and insecurity, climate change impacts on agriculture and sustainable approahces to increasing food production. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The CAES post-doc completed all project activities during the third year of this project, which aligned with the spending down of all funds at CAES, excluding the subaward to UMass Amherst. The CAES post-doc applied for and was hired as a full time Assistant Scientist (equivalent of an Assistant Professor) at CAES. The graduate student at UMass participated in regular seminar series and professional development workshops offered by the graduate school at UMass Amherst. He continued his training in the UMass Core facilities for use of TEM for plant samples and nanomaterials characterization.He also mentored a UMass undergraduate student that participated in the experiments investigating the alleviation of Cd toxicity in rice by NS application The UMass Graduate student also attended and made a platform presentation at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA annual meeting and another presentation at the annual meeting of the ASPB- Northeastern section. All of these activities provided the grant-funded post-doc and graduate student with opportunities to interact and network with fellow students and researchers as part of important professional development. The UMass graduate student has successfully defended his PhD and now been hired at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in the laboratory of the current PD to work on another project focused on nanoscale strategies to minimize toxic element accumulation in food. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During the 4 years of this project, our team completed all proposed work. In the fourth and final year, two additional papers were published in 2023 (NanoImpact, ACS Nano; see Products) and one more is currently under review (Chemical Science). Two final manuscripts are under preparation and will be submitted in the next three months. Project findings were presented at a large number of scientific meetings by team members, including by the graduate student, post-doc, and PI/CoPIs. In addition, study findings were also presented at the CAES Annual Plant Science Day (Aug. 2024), which is a public event that was attended in nearly 1000 citizens and stakeholders. In terms of scientific meetings and seminars, project findings were presented at the 6th International Conference on Agriculture for Sustainable Development in Cuttack India; the National Nanotechnology Initiative Nanometrology Webinar Series: Nanometrology for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment; at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (invited seminar); the University of New Haven (invited seminar); NanoFlorida 2024 International Conference; the University of Connecticut (invited seminar); the 2024 Gordon Research Conference on Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems; Guangdong University of Technology (invited seminar); 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Food Security, and Safety in Colombo, Sri Lanka (invited seminar); the Joint Conference of ISEH ICEPH & ISEG on Environment and Health , Galway, Ireland; the American Chemical Society meeting in Denver CO; 3rd International PALSA (Pan American Light Sources for Agriculture (PALSA 2023) held at Cornell University; at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee on the Quadrennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative; and at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station seminar series. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is the final project report.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the final year of this project, two sets of experiments investigating the impact of nanoscale sulfur on crop systems were completed and are currently being written up. The first set of experiments focused on a comparative analysis of nanoscale and bulk sulfur as s fertilizer for soybean. This study investigated the effects of different sulfur soil amendments, including nanosulfur (NS) and bulk sulfur (BS) at 200 or 400 mg/kg, on soybean growth, photosynthesis, and nutrient uptake. In a short-term (8-week) experiment, NS200 and NS400 treatments significantly enhanced multiple growth parameters, including pod weight, shoot weight, nodule weight, and chlorophyll content. The NS200 treatment led to a 36.5% increase in pod weight and a 141.2% increase in nodule weight, outperforming BS200, which showed smaller gains. While NS400 also improved plant growth, BS400 proved detrimental, reducing pod weight by 68.2% and root weight by 32%. These results demonstrate that NS, particularly at 200 and 400 ppm, is a more effective fertilizer for enhancing soybean growth, while BS can become toxic at higher concentrations. In the longer-term full life cycle experiment, NS200 significantly improved soybean pod weight (22%) and seed weight (31%), whereas BS200 only slightly increased shoot biomass (16.4%). NS400 and BS400 showed no substantial improvements in pod or seed weights, but NS400 increased seed oil content by 21%. Nutrient uptake analysis revealed that BS400 and NS400 markedly improved the levels of key nutrients like sulfur, magnesium, and manganese in plant shoots and roots. However, NS200 showed mixed effects, with increases in iron but reductions in calcium and zinc. All sulfur treatments elevated sulfur content in seeds, though calcium and magnesium levels were reduced. Further evaluation of different sulfur forms revealed that stearic acid-coated nanosulfur (SA200) was the most beneficial, significantly increasing pod and nodule weights in the short term. In contrast, larger nanosulfur particles (NS-47) and BS200 resulted in reduced nodule weight and delayed flowering compared to the SA200-treated plants. In conclusion, NS200 and SA200 were the most effective treatments for enhancing soybean growth, yield, and nutrient uptake. Higher concentrations of BS were detrimental, while NS400 primarily enhanced nutrient uptake without significantly improving yield. These findings suggest that nanosulfur-based fertilizers offer superior benefits over bulk sulfur for soybean cultivation, particularly at lower concentrations. In the second set of experiments, the impact of nanoscale sulfur and other amendments on Cd accumulation and toxicity in wheat was investigated. This study examined the effects of cadmium (Cd) contamination and sulfur (S) soil amendments on wheat growth, Cd accumulation, and soil health. A Cd dose-response experiment revealed that increasing Cd concentrations (20-80 ppm) did not significantly affect wheat shoot weight or grain yield. However, Cd accumulated in both shoots and grains in proportion to the increasing Cd dose in soil, with the highest accumulation at 80 ppm Cd. While Cd contamination did not visibly affect plant growth, it led to substantial and dangerous levels of Cd accumulation in plant tissues, especially grains. Separately, wheat was grown in 40 ppm Cd soil with various sulfur amendments (bulk sulfur, nanosulfur, stearic acid-coated nanosulfur, and sulfate). Nanosulfur (NS) demonstrated a protective effect, increasing seedling weight by 37.6% and mitigating Cd toxicity, while bulk sulfur (BS) and sulfate amendments often resulted in reduced growth. For instance, BS200+Cd reduced seedling weight by 79.6% and decreased flag leaf length and seed weight, indicating a negative effect at higher sulfur concentrations. In terms of sulfur accumulation, BS100+Cd and Sulfate200+Cd showed the highest sulfur content increases in shoots, while sulfate treatments significantly enhanced sulfur uptake in roots. NS treatments increased sulfur content in grains, showing their potential for improving nutrient uptake. Regarding cadmium accumulation, BS200+Cd resulted in the highest Cd levels in shoots and grains, while NS and sulfate treatments reduced Cd translocation to shoots. Despite this, none of the sulfur treatments reduced Cd accumulation in the grains, with some, like NS100+Cd, significantly increasing Cd levels. In the third experiment, two wheat varieties ('Louise' and 'Bobwhite') were grown under lower Cd concentrations (30 ppm) to examine varietal differences. In Louise, sulfur treatments like ionic sulfur (IS) reduced Cd accumulation and improved biomass, while BS and SA increased Cd translocation. In Bobwhite, sulfur treatments mitigated some effects of Cd toxicity, but BS and NS treatments increased Cd accumulation in both roots and shoots. Overall, sulfur amendments, particularly nanosulfur, provided some protection against Cd toxicity in wheat but also influenced Cd accumulation and soil pH. Ionic sulfur was the most effective in mitigating Cd stress, whereas bulk sulfur often worsened Cd accumulation and translocation. The above work was done in year 4 of this project. As a general conclusion for the work done across the entire project duration, all project objectives have been met and significant discoveries have been made on the use of nanoscale sulfur as a unique fertilizer (objective 1), stimulant of plant immunity in diseased crop systems (objective 2), and as a tool to mitigate toxic element accumulation and toxicity in crop species (objective 3). A number of systems were investigated in each of the three objectives. A total of 11 papers were published, with 3 more currently in process. The data in this grant gave rise to additional submitted grants, including one funded for copper sulfide in biopolymer carriers. The data produced in this grant also added significantly to the Closer to Zero initiative.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Steven, B.; Amine Hassani, M.; LaReau, J.C.; Wang, Y.; White, J.C. 2024. Nanoscale sulfur alters the bacterial and eukaryotic communities of the tomato rhizosphere and their interactions with a fungal pathogen. NanoImpact 33:100495.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Wang, Y.; Deng, C.; Zhao, L.; Elmer, W.H.; Dimkpa, C.O.; Sharma, S.; Wang, Z.; Parkash Dhankher, O.; Xing, B.; White, J.C. 2024. Time-dependent and coating specific modulation of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) molecular response to nanoscale sulfur: An orthogonal mechanistic investigation. ACS Nano 18, 18, 11813ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿11827.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Srivastava, R.; Singh, Y.; White, J.C.; Dhankher, O. 2024. Strategies for limiting toxic elements in food: Addressing critical knowledge gaps to ensure a safe food supply. Trend Food Sci. 104725 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2024.104725
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Sun, Y.; Jiang, Y.; Li, Y.; Zhu, G.; Wang, Q.; Zhao, W.; Wang, Q.; Wang, Y.; Parkash Dhankher, O.; White, J.C.; Rui, Y.; Zhang, P. 2023. Unlocking the potential of nanoscale sulfur in sustainable agriculture. Chem. Sci. Submitted
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Sharma, S.; Wang, Y.; White, J.C.; Xing, B.; Parkash Dhankher, O. 2024. A Comparative study of nanosulfur and bulk sulfur fertilizers in soybean: Improved efficacy and reduced toxicity with nanosulfur. In preparation.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Sharma, S.; Wang, Y.; White, J.C.; Xing, B.; Parkash Dhankher, O. 2024. Impact of sulfur nanoparticles and other sulfur soil amendments on cadmium toxicity in wheat varieties with varying Cd affinity. In preparation.
|
Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:This project is investigating nanoscale sulfur as a novel multifunctional agricultural amendment to enhance crop yield, suppress disease, and improve food safety by reducing heavy metal uptake. The target audience includes growers, regulators, agrochemical companies, as well as scientists investigating food safety and insecurity, climate change impacts on agriculture and sustainable approahces to increasing food production. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The CAES post-doc continued to travel to the University of Connecticut Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility to gain expertise on the use of LC-MS based metabolomic extraction and analysis of plant tissue samples. In addition, the CAES post-doc used the high-resolution transmission electron microscope at the Yale University core facility to characterize various nanomaterials. The CAES post-doc also gave two invited lectures at the University of Massachusetts, as well as a presentation at the CAES Plant Science Day (open house event). The graduate student at UMass participated in regular seminar series and professional development workshops offered by the graduate school at UMass Amherst. He is getting training in the UMass Core facilities for use of TEM for plant samples and nanomaterials characterization.The UMass Graduate student also attended and made a platform presentation at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA annual meeting and another presentation at the annual meeting of the ASPB- Northeastern section. All of these activities provided the grant-funded post-doc and graduate student with opportunities to interact and network with fellow students and researchers as part of important professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?After three years of work, our team is on track to complete and likely exceed all proposed work. Four papers were published in 2023 (Environmental Pollution, Science of the Total Environment, Journal of Environmental Science, International Journal of Phytoremediation; see Products) and three more are currently under review (NanoImpact, Nano Today, Environmental Science and Technology Letters). At least two more manuscripts are under preparation and will be submitted in 2024. Project findings were presented at a large number of scientific meetings by team members, including by the graduate student, post-doc, and PI/CoPIs. In addition, study findings were also presented at the CAES Annual Plant Science Day (Aug.2022), which is a public event that was attended in nearly 1000 citizens and stakeholders. In terms of scientific meetings and seminars, project findings were presented at the University of Texas El Paso (Department seminar); Atlantic Basin Conference on Chemistry (ABCChem) in Marrakech Morocco; International Conference on Food and Nutritional Security in Mohali India; National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) in Sonepat India); Pan-American Light Source for Agriculture (PALSA) at Cornell University; Rutgers University (Department seminar); North Carolina State University at the NSF Center for Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS); Auburn University (Department seminar); Princeton University (Department seminar); the American Chemical Society Spring 2023 Conference; Brookhaven National Laboratory (visiting seminar); with staff scientists of the fertilizer companies Mosaic and Nutrien; University of Wisconsin (NSF site visit); Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Europe 33rd Annual Meeting in Dublin Ireland; staff scientists from Land o Lakes and Vulpes Corporation; University of Massachusetts Amherst; International Network For Researching, Advancing, and Assessing Materials for Environmental Sustainability (INFRAMES) in Venice Italy; 2023 International Phytotechnologies Conference at Argonne National Laboratory; Workshop on Novel Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition at the University of Delaware; The International Conference on Sustainable and Applied Nanotechnology for Agriculture and Health (SANTAH)(remote); 2023 International Symposium on the Advances ofPlant Nanobiotechnology; Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province (remote); American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2023 Conference, San Francisco CA; University of Parma in Parma Italy; the University of Minnesota, 9-9-9 Workshop on Science and Engineering in Agriculture and Biology; University of Delaware (Department seminar); the 2023 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting; University of Athens, Greece; and the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) in Los Angeles CA. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Although the initial proposed 3-year period of this project has closed, we are in a no-cost extension for year 4 and as such, work will continue on several of the projects described above. Additional studies focused on the use of nanoscale sulfur to decrease cadmium uptake by wheat and rice will continue. In addition, the use of nanoscale sulfur and copper sulfide in the projects with the University of Mauritius and the University of Auckland will continue.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Experiments investigating the potential of nanoscale sulfur to alleviate metal toxicity continued. Specifically, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were evaluated; these are commonly used in many commercial products, and significant exposure in agricultural systems is anticipated. We evaluated the potential protective role of nanosulfur (NS) and bulk sulfur (BS) at 200 and 400 mg/kg soil application in alleviating silver nanoparticle (AgNPs; 32 and 64 mg/kg) phytotoxicity to soybean. Exposure to AgNPs significantly affected plant growth and yield, reducing nodule weight by 40%, fresh shoot weight by 66%, and seed yield by 68% when compared to controls. However, nanosulfur application in soil alleviated AgNPs toxicity, and importantly, this impact was nanoscale specific at the higher concentration. Moreover, NS increased nodule mass by 3.5 times compared to AgNPs-treated plants.Plants treated with NS with AgNPs co-exposure accumulated significantly less Ag in the shoots (80% reduction) and roots (95% reduction); no Ag was detected in seeds. These findings demonstrate the potential of sulfur as a sustainable soil amendment to reduce the accumulation and toxicity of AgNPs and as a valuable nano-enabled strategy to promote food safety and security. Two additional studies were conducted to investigate the effect of nanoscale sulfur (NS) on the toxicity of heavy metals - mercury (Hg) and copper (Cu). In one study, we studied the effect of NS on Hg accumulation and growth in oilseed rape (Brassica napusL.) grown on mercury-contaminated soil. For NS and Hg interactions, the results showed a significant reduction in fresh biomass for seedlings grown on 80-200 mg/kg Hg-polluted soil after 30 days. At 120 mg/kg Hg treatment, 100-300 mg/kg NS application counteracted Hg toxicity more effectively compared to the corresponding bulk sulfur particles (BSPs) and ionic sulfur (sulfate) treatments. Meanwhile, 300 mg/kg NS application decreased Hg accumulation by 18.9 and 76.5% in shoots and roots, respectively, relative to Hg alone treatment. NS treatment caused more Hg to be blocked in the soil and accumulating significantly less Hg in plants as compared to other S forms. These findings suggest that adding NS to Hg-contaminated soils could be an effective measure for immobilizing soluble Hg and decreasing the Hg concentration in the edible parts of crops. Another study explored the impact of NS on growth, Cu accumulation, and physiological and biochemical responses of oilseed rape (Brassica napusL.) exposed to 5mg/L Cu-amended MS medium supplemented with or without 300mg/L NS exposure. Cu exerted severe phytotoxicity and inhibited plant growth. SNPs application enhanced the shoot height, root length, and dry weight of shoot and root by 34.6%, 282%, 41.7% and 37.1%, respectively, over Cu treatment alone. SNPs also positively counteracted the negative effects on shoot K, Ca, P, Mg, Mn, Zn and Fe contents and root K, Ca, Mg and Mn contents from Cu exposure alone, and significantly promoted the nutrients accumulation in plant. Additionally, in comparison with common bulk sulfur particles (BSPs) and sulfate, NS showed more positive effects on promoting growth in shoots (6.7% and 19.5%) and roots (10.9% and 15.1%), as well as lowering the shoot Cu content (40.1% and 43.3%) underCu stress. Thus, NS application has potential to be a green and sustainable technology for increasing plant productivity and reducing accumulation of toxic metals in heavy metal polluted soils. Two other studies were conducted looking at the unique nutritional benefits of nanoscale sulfur. The first focused on plants under disease or biotic stress. Elemental sulfur nanomaterials (S NMs) were used to suppress bacterial pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum on lettuce. Foliar application with S NMs at 10-100 mg/L decreased bacterial soft rot, where 100 mg/L exhibited the best performance with alleviating disease severity by 94.1 % relative to infected controls. The disease suppression ef?ciency of S based materials (100 mg/L) and a conventional pesticide (thiophanate-methyl) followed the order of S NMs ≈ pesticide > S bulk particles (BPs) > sulfate. The disease control ef?ciency of S NMs was 1.33- and 3.20-fold that of S BPs and sulfate, respectively, and the shoot and root biomass with S NMs was 1.25- and 1.17-fold that of the pesticide treated plants. Metabolomics analysis demonstrated that S NMs also promoted the tricarboxylic acid cycle and increased SA and JA metabolite biosynthesis. Moreover, S NMs application increased nutritive quality of lettuce by 20.8-191.7%. These ?ndings demonstrate that S NMs have potential to manage crop disease, thereby reducing the environmental burden due to decreasing use of conventional pesticides. A second study focused on nanoscale sulfur amendment as a unique fertilizer for healthy plants. Specifically, we investigated the soil application of pristine (nS) and surface modified (cS) sulfur nanoparticles as a multi-functional agricultural nanofertilizer to enhance the growth of tomato. Bulk sulfur (bS) and ionic sulfate (iS) were included for comparison, and orthogonal endpoints were evaluated in two greenhouse experiments. Both nS and cS increased root mass by 73.9% and 81.5%, and increased shoot weight by 35.1% and 50.0%, respectively, compared to the untreated controls. bS and iS had no such stimulatory effect. Surface modification of S nanoparticles had a positive impact. Moreover, nS and cS significantly improved the efficiency of photosynthesis. The expression of genes related to two S bioassimilation pathways within the plant were investigated, and it was clear that the nanoparticle-specific internalization route led to higher utilization efficiency. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the use of nanoscale sulfur as a multifunctional soil amendment to enhance plant performance. As observed above, nanoformulations of sulfur have demonstrated the potential to enhance plant growth and reduce disease incidence when plants are confronted with pathogens. However, the impact of nanoscale sulfur on microbial communities in close contact with the plant root, known as the rhizosphere, remain poorly characterized. Consequently, we investigated the influence of three formulations of sulfur; bulk sulfur, uncoated (pristine) sulfur nanoparticles, and stearic acid coated sulfur nanoparticles, on the rhizosphere of tomato plants. Tomato plants were challenged by the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici (FOL). Employing bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing, along with recently in-house designed peptide nucleic acid clamps to facilitate the recovery of micro-eukaryotic sequences, we performed a comprehensive survey of rhizosphere microbial populations. The largest influence on the composition of the rhizosphere microbiome was the presence of the fungal pathogen. However, sulfur amendments also drove state changes in the rhizosphere populations; for example, enriching the relative abundance of the sulfur-oxidizing bacterium Thiobacillus and the eukaryotic Ciliophora. Notably, when investigating the response of the rhizosphere community to the different sulfur amendments, there was a strong interaction between FOL and sulfur treatments. This resulted in different bacterial and eukaryotic taxa being enriched in association with the different forms of sulfur, which was dependent on the presence of the pathogen. These data point to nanoformulations of sulfur exerting unique shifts in the rhizosphere community compared to bulk sulfur, particularly in association with a plant pathogen, and have implications for the sustainable use of nanoscale strategies in sustainable agriculture.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Cao, X; Liu, Y.; Luo, X.; Wang, C.; Yue, L.; Elmer, W.; Parkash Dhankher, O.; White, J.C.; Wang, Z.; Xing, B. 2023. Mechanistic investigation of enhanced bacterial soft rot resistance in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) with elemental sulfur nanomaterials. Sci. Tot. Environ. 884, 163793.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Steven, B.; Amine Hassani, M.; LaReau, J.C.; Wang, Y.; White, J.C. 2023. Nanoscale sulfur alters the bacterial and eukaryotic communities of the tomato rhizosphere and their interactions with a fungal pathogen. NanoImpact Submitted.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Wang, Y.; Deng, C.; Zhao, L.; Elmer, W.H.; Dimkpa, C.O.; Sharma, S.; Wang, Z.; Parkash Dhankher, O.; Xing, B.; White, J.C. 2023. Time-dependent and coating specific modulation of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) molecular response to nanoscale sulfur: An orthogonal mechanistic investigation. Nano Today Submitted.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Sun, Y.; Jiang, Y.; Li, Y.; Zhu, G.; Wang, Q.; Zhao, W.; Wang, Q.; Wang, Y.; Parkash Dhankher, O.; White, J.C.; Rui, Y.; Zhang, P. 2023. Unlocking the potential of nanoscale sulfur in sustainable agriculture. Environ. Sci. Technol Letters. Submitted
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Sharma, S.; Singh, G.; Wang, Y.; White, J.C.; Xing, B.; Parkash Dhankher, O. 2023. Nanoscale sulfur alleviates silver nanoparticle toxicity and improves seed and oil yield in Soybean (Glycine max). Environ. Poll. 336, 122423.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Zhuang, Q.; Liu, Q.; Sun, Y.; Fu, J.; Tang, S.; Sharma, S.; Dhankher, O.P.; Yuan. H. 2023. Influence of nanoscale sulfur on mercury accumulation and plant growth in oilseed rape seedlings (Brassica napus L.) grown on mercury-contaminated soil. Int. J. Phytoremediation 2023; https://doi.org/10.1080/15226514.2023.2251596
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Yuan, H.; Liu, Q.; Fu, J.; Sun, Y.; Gu, C.; Tong, H.; Guo, Z.; and Dhankher, O.P. 2023. Co-exposure of Sulfur Nanoparticles and Copper Alleviate Cu Stress and Toxicity to Oilseed rape Brassica napus L. J. Environ. Science, 124: 319-329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2021.09.040
|
Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:This project is investigating nanoscale sulfur as a novel multifunctional agricultural amendment to enhance crop yield, suppress disease, and improve food safety by reducing heavy metal uptake. The target audience includes growers, regulators, agrochemical companies, as well as scientists investigating food safety and insecurity, climate change impacts on agriculture and sustainable approahces to increasing food production. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The CAES post-doc continued to travel to the University of Connecticut Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility to gain expertise on the use of LC-MS based metabolomic extraction and analysis of plant tissue samples. In addition, the CAES post-doc used the high-resolution transmission electron microscope at the Yale University core facility to characterize various nanomaterials. The CAES post-doc also gave platform presentations at the American Chemical Society meeting, the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Meeting, the ASA-CSSA-SSSA, as well as giving a poster presentation at the Gordon Conference on Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems, as well as the associated GRS. The Graduate student at UMass participated in regular seminar series and professional development workshops offered by the Graduate school at UMass Amherst. He is getting training in the UMass Core facilities for use of TEM for plant samples and nanomaterials characterization. The UMass Graduate student also attended and made a platform presentation at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA annual meeting. All of these activities provided the grant-funded post-doc and graduate student with opportunities to interact and network with fellow students and researchers as part of important professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?After two years or work, our team is on track to complete and likely exceed all proposed work. Two papers were published in 2022 (ACS Nano, J. Agric. Food Chem.; see Products) and two more are in preparation for submission in the next 2 months. Project findings were presented at a large number of scientific meetings by team members, including by the graduate student, post-doc, and PI/CoPIs. In addition, study findings were also presented at the CAES Annual Plant Science Day (Aug.2021), which is a public event that was attended in nearly 1000 citizens and stakeholders. The work was also featured in a CAES Podcast that was widely distributed to stakeholders and the general public. In terms of scientific meetings and seminars, project findings were presented at the Fall American Chemical Society meeting (in person); ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting (in person); the 11th Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization meeting (in person); The International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies (Pacifichem)(remote), US-NA Nanotechnology Convergence for Energy, Environment, and Health (remote); the University of Massachusetts (Department Seminar)(remote), the University of Rhode Island (Department seminar)(in person); the University of Texas El Paso (Department seminar)(in person); the Johns Hopkins University (Department seminar)(in person); Rutgers University (Department seminar)(in person); Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems Gordon Research Conference (in person); Materials Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) 2022 Symposium (in person); 2022 Global Summit: Nanotechnology for a Healthier and Sustainable Future, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (remote); 21st World Congress of Food, Science and Technology; Future of Food: Innovation, Sustainability and Health in Singapore (in person); SETAC North America 43rd Annual Meeting (in person); and Atlantic Basin Conference on Chemistry (ABCChem), Marrakech Morocco. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will continue on all 3 objectives as described above. This includes further investigations on the fertilization and disease suppression effect of nanoscale sulfur on wheat, soybean, and tomato. We will plan to focus more on coating since steric acid coated sulfur nanoparticles produced the greatest effects. We will also begin to make more materials ourselves, where we can introduce our own coatings and create novel multi-component sulfur-based materials, such as copper sulfide. These materials will be used in greenhouse and field studies for objectives 1 and 2 of the project. In addition, we will expand our use of metabolomic and transcriptomic endpoints and will also introduce proteomics as an endpoint. Last, the different forms of nanosulfur will be further investigated as an amendment to minimize As uptake by rice, with a focus on coating, as well as to minimize Cd uptake by wheat. All work will be a combination of greenhouse and field studies.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project is investigating nanoscale sulfur as a novel multifunctional agricultural amendment to enhance crop yield, suppress disease, and improve food safety by reducing heavy metal uptake. Several studies were conducted during this first year, two of which have resulted in publications. In a field study, pristine or surface coated sulfur nanoparticles (nS and cS) were amended in soil (at 0, 100, and 200 mg/kg soil) that was planted with tomato seedlings and was infested with Fusarium. Bulk sulfur (BS), ionic sulfate (iS), and healthy plants treated with the same sulfur-containing compounds were included as controls. Foliar exposure of cS (200 μg/mL) was also included. In healthy plants, cS increased tomato marketable yield up to 3.3∼3.4-fold compared to controls. In infested treatments, cS significantly reduced disease severity compared to the other treatments. In addition, relative to disease controls, CS significantly increased the S, Ca, Cu, Fe, Si, and Mg content in the fruit, demonstrating a significant biofortification of important nutrients. The mechanisms responsible for this activity are unknown. However, sulfur is known to promote the formation of iron plaque on plant root surfaces, and this has been shown to increase in planta Fe, Si, K, and Mg content. Last, foliar and soil treatment with cS increased yield by 107 and 192% over diseased controls. A $33/acre investment in cS led to an increase in marketable yield from 4920 to 11,980 kg/acre for healthy plants and from 1135 to 2180 kg/acre for infested plants. These increases equate to an additional $6,700-12,200 in economic return per acre and demonstrate the significant potential of this nano-enabled strategy to increase food production. This paper was published in J. Agric. Food Chem. in 2022 (see Products). Separately, we have begun to investigate the use of a novel multicomponent sulfur-based nanomaterial in the form of copper sulfide. A field study with the foliar application of nanoscale copper sulfide was conducted with soybean infested or not infested with a fungal pathogen (Fusarium sp). Data analysis is ongoing but foliar amendment with nanoscale CuS resulted in a significant reduction in disease severity and a significant increase in pod mass. Sample analysis for nutrient content and statistical analysis of the data set is ongoing. In addition, we have also begun to synthesize our own nanomaterials, including a coated CuS that has a particle size of about 10 nm. Further work is needed to characterize the properties and stability of these materials before planned use in greenhouse and field studies. We reported last year that in rice, nanosulfur (NS) application at 200 mg/kg caused a 40% increase in seedling biomass and an overall 26% increase in seed yield of mature rice plants compared to untreated control plants. During the current year, we expanded those studies to include wheat and soybean. In wheat, the effect of NS on wheat was tested via soil amendment, foliar application and under hydroponic conditions. In hydroponics, exposure to NS at 100 mg/L for 2 weeks increased the total seedling weight by 25% compared to the untreated control. Further, we conducted the S fertilization experiment in soil with different types of sulfur treatments including nano sulfur, bulk sulfur, ionic sulfur, and stearic acid-coated nanosulfur. A foliar spray experiment with different sulfur sources at different concentrations on the wheat leaves was also conducted. Briefly, these experiments have shown some potential for stearic acid-coated nanosulfur (NS-SA) as a more effective sulfur fertilizer than other S sources. Further analysis of the current data and more biochemical assays are in progress. In soybean, we found that NS application works better than bulk sulfur (BS) application in the soil as a fertilizer. Soybean grown in NS-treated soil produced 10.5% greater seed yield as compared to the untreated control, whereas BS treatment produced only a 5% increase compared to the untreated control. When we tested the different S treatments in the soil, we found that stearic acid-coated nanosulfur (NS-SA) treated plants showed a 44.6% increase in fresh pod biomass and an 18% increase in nodule weight compared to untreated control plants. We are currently conducting an experiment to validate this result and assess seed yields and related parameters. Data from the wheat and soybean studies will be written up a single paper in the coming months. Last, we continued to investigate the use of nanosulfur for reducing heavy-metal toxicity and accumulation. The objective here is to assess the effectiveness ofnanosulfur compared to other forms of sulfur, to alleviate heavy metals-induced stress and reduce the accumulation of toxic elements in the edible parts of the crops.Last year we reported on arsenic in rice and showed that soil application of nanosulfur in arsenic-contaminated soil reduces arsenic accumulation in rice shoots, roots, and grains compared to plants grown under arsenic alone. This year, we investigated cadmium in wheat. Under hydroponics, NS treatment resulted in a 31% higher total biomass of wheat seedlings under Cd toxicity, when compared to BS. When we tested wheat plants at different concentrations of Cd in soil, we found that even though plants did not show any discernible morphological changes corresponding to the increasing concentrations of Cd in soil, they accumulated a high amount of Cd in both their shoot and seed biomass. Further experiments are being conducted in wheat for full maturity where different types of sulfur are being tested for their ability to alleviate Cd toxicity and reduce Cd accumulation in shoot and seed biomass of the wheat plants. Further analysis of the current data and the biochemical assays are in progress. We also investigated nanosulfur for its potential to alleviate silver nanoparticle (Ag NPs) toxicity in soybean plants. The application of NS (200 and 400 ppm) significantly increased the seed numbers, seed size, and shoot biomass when applied along with AgNP, alleviating toxicity. This increase in yield and other agronomic parameters was significantly better than plants treated with BS with AgNP. The silver accumulation in both root and shoot tissues was also significantly reduced in NS+AgNP-treated plants as compared to BS+AgNP-treated plants. The results of this experiment written up for submission in the coming months.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
60. Wang, Y.; Deng, C.; Sharma, S.; Wang, Z.; Navarro, G.; Li, C.; Dimkpa, C.; Zhao, L.; Steven. B.T.; LaReau, J.; Parkash Dhankher, O.; Xing, B.; Gardea-Torresdey, J.; Elmer, W.; White, J.C. 2022. Therapeutic delivery of nanoscale sulfur to suppress disease in tomato: In vitro imaging and orthogonal mechanistic investigation. ACS Nano. 16, 7, 1120411217
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
49. Wang, Y.; Deng, C.; Shen, Y.; Borgatta, J.; Dimkpa, C.O.; Xing, B.; Parkash Dhankher, O.; Wang, Z.; White, J.C.; Elmer, W.E. 2022. Surface coated sulfur nanoparticles suppress Fusarium disease in field grown tomato: Increased yield and nutrient biofortification. J. Agric. Food Chem. DOI:10.1021/acs.jafc.2c05255
|
Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:This project is investigating nanoscale sulfur as a novel multifunctional agricultural amendment to enhance crop yield, suppress disease, and improve food safety by reducing heavy metal uptake. The target audience includes growers, regulators, agrochemical companies, as well as scientists investigating food safety and insecurity, climate change impacts on agriculture and sustainable approahces to increasing food production. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The CAES post-doc has been travelling to the University of Connecticut Proteomics and Metabolomics Facilityto gain expertise on the use of LC-MS based metabolomic extraction and analysis of plant tissue samples. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Although the pandemic has somewhat slowed progress, our team is on track after one year to complete and likely exceed all proposed work. Two papers have been published in 2021 (ACS Nano, Environmental Science & Technology; see Products). The work described above under topic 3 will be submitted to two journals; the greenhouse work with the metabolomic/transcriptomic and rhizosphere microbiome analysis will be submitted to Nature Nanotechnology before the end of the calendar year. The field data will be submitted to NanoImpact in February-March 2022. Project findings were also presented at the CAES Annual Plant Science Day (Aug.2021), which is a public event that was attended in person (with COVID protocols) by over 1000 citizens and stakeholders. The work was also presented at the Sustainable Innovation of Microbiome Applications in the Food System (SIMBA) training course entitled "Regulation, legislation, and safety of biostimulants and biofertilizers, including nanoformulates" (Venice, Italy [virtual]; Sept.2021) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will continue on all 3 objectivesas described above. This includes further investigations on the fertilization effect of nanoscale sulfur on wheat and soybean, with a focus on the importance of coating and particle size. In addition, additional studies on the potential of nanoscale sulfur to uniquely suppress bacterial and fungal diseases in tomato and soybean will continue, including metabolomic and transcriptomic endpoints. Last,nanosulfur will be firtherinvestigated as an amendment to minimize As uptake byrice, with a focus on both particle size and coating, as well as to minimize Cd uptake by wheat. All work will be a combination of greenhouse and field studies.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project is investigating nanoscale sulfur as a novel multifunctional agricultural amendment to enhance crop yield, suppress disease, and improve food safety by reducing heavy metal uptake. Three studies were conducted during this first year, two of which have resulted in publications: 1. Foliar and seed applied sulfur nanoparticles (SNPs) to enhance disease resistance in tomato; 2. SNPs to reduce arsenic toxicity and accumulation in rice; 3. Soil amendment of coated/uncoated SNPs to modulate nutrition and health of tomato. Foliar and seed applied SNPs to enhance disease resistance in tomato- In spite of significant pesticide use, crop losses from plant pests and pathogens range from 10-20%, directly confounding efforts to achieve global food security. Several experiments were conducted in collaboration with our unfunded partners at Jiangnan University in China to investigate the use of SNPs as a novel crop management strategy for the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on tomatoes. In a greenhouse experiment, both foliar application and seed treatment with SNPs (30−100 mg/L, 30 and 100 nm) suppressed pathogen infection in a concentration- and size-dependent fashion. Foliar application with 1 mg/plant of 30 nm SNPs exhibited the best performance, signi?cantly decreasing disease incidence by 48% and increasing shoot biomass by 56% at 10 weeks. Importantly, the disease control e?cacy with 30 nm SNPs was 1.43-fold greater than the commercially available fungicide hymexazol. Mechanistically, 30 nm SNPs activated the salicylic acid-dependent systemic acquired resistance pathway in tomato, with subsequent upregulation of the expression of pathogenesis- and antioxidant-related genes (11−352%) and enhancement of the activity and content of disease-related biomolecules (5−49%). TEM imaging shows that SNPs were distributed in the tomato stem and may also have directly inactivated in vivo pathogenic mycelia. The oxidative stress in tomato shoots and roots, the root plasma membrane damage, and pathogen growth in the stem were signi?cantly decreased by SNPs. These findings were published in Cao et al. 2021. ACS Nano doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c02917 and highlight the signi?cant potential of SNPs as a sustainable crop protection strategy. SNPs to reduce arsenic toxicity and accumulation in rice- Rice accumulates arsenic (As) in its grains, posing serious health concerns for billions of people. The impact of soil applied SNPs on rice seedlings and mature plants under As stress was investigated. In control plants, SNPs induced a 40% increase in seedling biomass and a 26% increase in seed yield of mature plants. AsIII exposure in soil caused severe toxicity to rice; however, co-exposure with SNPs alleviated As toxicity. Rice seedlings treated with AsIII+SNPs produced 159% and 248% more shoot and root biomass, respectively, than plants exposed to AsIII alone. Further, AsIII+SNPs treated seedlings accumulated 32% and 11% less As in root and shoot tissues, respectively, than AsIII alone. Mature plants treated with AsIII+SNPs produced 76%, 110%, and 108% greater dry shoot biomass, seed number, and seed yield, respectively, and accumulated 69%, 38%, 18%, and 54% less total As in the root, shoot, flag leaves, and grains, respectively, compared to AsIII alone treated plants. A similar trend was observed in seedlings treated with AsV and SNPs. These results demonstrate that SNPs application in agriculture could decrease As in the food chain while simultaneously enhancing crop productivity on marginal and contaminated lands. This work was just accepted for publication (Meselhy et al. 2021. Environ. Sci. Technol. doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c05495). Studies are now ongoing assessing the impact of SNPs on Cd toxicity and accumulation by wheat. Soil amendment of coated/uncoated SNPs to modulate nutrition and health of tomato- In this study, pristine or surface coated sulfur nanoparticles (nS and cS) were amended in soil (at 0, 100, and 200 mg/kg soil) that was planted with tomato seedlings and infested with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Bulk sulfur (bS), ionic sulfate (iS), and healthy plants treated with the same sulfur-containing compounds were included as controls. Two greenhouse experiments and one field study were conducted. Measured endpoints include agronomic and photosynthetic parameters; nutrient accumulation; disease severity; a range of mechanistic biochemical and molecular endpoints by LC-MS, including regulation of metabolites, assimilation pathways; and transcriptional alteration of sulfite metabolism-related and pathogenesis-related genes, which were all determined in a time-dependent fashion. A comprehensive genomic analysis using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was performed to study the diversity of the rhizosphere microbial community as affected by the S based treatments. Results show that amendment with nS and cS significantly reduced disease severity. At 16 days, nS and cS significantly increased shoot biomass compared with the healthy (by 35% and 40%, respectively) and diseased (by 264% and 377%, respectively) controls. No such enhancement was found with plants harvested at 4 days. The expression of a defense-related gene, WRKY6v1, was upregulated by nS and cS by 6.4-8.7 -fold at 8 days, and 2.0-2.2 -fold at 16 days, compared to each healthy control. Images and videos obtained via two-photon microscopy showed the biodistribution of S-based materials in tomato leaves and roots, depending both on particle size and surface coating. Results from this study will provide significant mechanistic insight into non-metal nanomaterial-based suppression of plant disease and will be highly useful in optimizing this sustainable approach in nano-enabled agricultural systems. In work currently be done at UMass, wheat is being grown under hydroponic conditions to compare the fertilization effects of nanoscale and bulk sulfur. In addition, soil-grown tomato is being cultivated in the presence of nanoscale sulfur with different coatings to evaluate the impact of material tunability on the fertilization effect. Last, the impact of different coatings on soybean growth and nodulation is being evaluated
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Cao, X.; Wang, C.; Luo, X.; Yu, L.; White, J.C.; Elmer, W.; Parkash Dhankher, O.; Wang, Z.; Xing, B. 2021. Elemental sulfur nanoparticles enhance disease resistance in tomato. ACS Nano doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c02917.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Meselhy, A.G.; Sharma, S.; Guo. Z.; Singh, S.; Yuan, H.; Tripathi, R.D.; Xing, B.; Musante, C.; White, J.C.; Parkash-Dhankher, O. 2021. Nanoscale sulfur improves plant growth and reduces arsenic toxicity and accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) Environ. Sci. Technol. doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c05495.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
The work was also presented at the Sustainable Innovation of Microbiome Applications in the Food System (SIMBA) training course entitled Regulation, legislation, and safety of biostimulants and biofertilizers, including nanoformulates (Venice, Italy [virtual]; Sept.2021)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Project findings were also presented at the CAES Annual Plant Science Day (Aug.2021), which is a public event that was attended in person (with COVID protocols) by over 1000 citizens and stakeholders
|
|