Abstract Climate change and rising sea levels increasingly threaten agriculture, especially in the coastal regions. Banana cultivars, especially the Cavendish clones, are sensitive to salinity stresses, which results in decreased production. In the current study, we evaluated the water deficit stress remediating effects of silicon nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) on micropropagated banana cv. “Grand Nain” - either under in vitro conditions in the laboratory or ex vitro in the greenhouse. In vitro water deficit was induced with polyethylene glycol (PEG-8000). Addition of in vitro SiO2 NPs enhanced shoot growth and chlorophyll content. Malondialdehyde content (MDA) and electrolyte leakage (EL) were reduced in 3% PEG-stressed plants following the addition of the 150 mg/l SiO2 NPs (38.73 nmole and 4.93%) compared with the control plants (51.67 nmole and 5.76%). In the greenhouse study, plants under salt and water deficit treatments were sprayed with SiO2 NPs at (0, 200, 400 and 600 mg/l). Under salinity stress conditions, SiO2 NPs improved photosynthesis as the stressed plants had similar chlorophyll content as control unstressed plants (23.33). SiO2 NPs at 400 mg/l application increased K+ level (10.54%) and decreased Na+ levels (1.17%). Under simulated water deficit stress conditions, 600 mg/l SiO2 NPs significantly increased K+ and K+/Na+ percent (10.37 and 14.40%) along with improvement in chlorophyll content index at all levels of SiO2 NPs application. The overall results revealed that SiO2 NPs application can improve chlorophyll content, induce K+ uptake, modulate Na+ levels and decrease cell wall damage in the treated plants comparing to the untreated plants under abiotic stress. Our results suggest that the application of SiO2 NPs can help maintain plant integrity in the banana cultivar ‘Grand Nain’ under simulated abiotic stress.

中文翻译：

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硅纳米粒子在模拟缺水或盐分胁迫下减轻体外衍生香蕉（Musa acuminata 'Grand Nain'）的氧化应激

摘要 气候变化和海平面上升日益威胁着农业，特别是在沿海地区。香蕉品种，尤其是卡文迪什无性系，对盐分胁迫敏感，会导致产量下降。在目前的研究中，我们评估了硅纳米颗粒 (SiO2 NPs) 对微繁香蕉品种的缺水胁迫修复效果。“Grand Nain”——无论是在实验室的体外条件下，还是在温室中的体外条件下。用聚乙二醇（PEG-8000）诱导体外缺水。添加体外 SiO2 NPs 增强了枝条生长和叶绿素含量。与对照植物（51.67 nmole 和 5.5 nmole）相比，添加 150 mg/l SiO2 NPs（38.73 nmole 和 4.93%）后，3% PEG 胁迫的植物的丙二醛含量（MDA）和电解质泄漏（EL）降低。76%）。在温室研究中，在盐和水分亏缺处理下的植物喷洒了 SiO2 NPs（0、200、400 和 600 毫克/升）。在盐分胁迫条件下，SiO2 NPs 改善了光合作用，因为受胁迫的植物与对照未受胁迫的植物具有相似的叶绿素含量 (23.33)。施用 400 mg/l 的 SiO2 NPs 增加了 K+ 水平（10.54%）并降低了 Na+ 水平（1.17%）。在模拟缺水胁迫条件下，600 mg/l SiO2 NPs 显着增加了 K+ 和 K+/Na+ 百分比（10.37 和 14.40%），同时在各个 SiO2 NPs 应用水平上都改善了叶绿素含量指数。总体结果表明，与非生物胁迫下未处理的植物相比，SiO2 NPs 的应用可以提高叶绿素含量，诱导 K+ 吸收，调节 Na+ 水平并减少处理植物的细胞壁损伤。