DEVELOPING AND INTEGRATING "-OMIC" TOOLS TO ELUCIDATE NANOPARTICLE TRANSPORT MECHANISM AND RESPONSES IN AGRICULTURAL CROPS

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

Nanotechnology has gained considerable attention in agricultural applications, due to the unique properties of materials at the nanoscale. Nanomaterials also exhibit an ability to bypass biological barriers. These novel materials may elicit beneficial as well as undesirable responses depending on their composition, method of application, dose or the sensitivity of the crop species. There is limited understanding of how plants respond to these nanomaterials, how they take them up, and at what point the application results in undesirable effects. The project utilizes sensitive bio-analytical tools to study the response of plants to different doses of nanomaterials. The knowledge obtained from this study should serve to design safer nano-scale agrochemicals, improve their effectiveness and promote agricultural sustainability by reducing the use of active ingredients and undesirable accumulation of agrochemicals in soil and associated water bodies. The overarching goal of this research is to apply advanced analytical methods to understand potential challenges in agriculture that can improve crop productivity and health, while minimizing burden on overall environmental health. The proposed project will employ sensitive molecular "nomics" approaches to elucidate the mechanisms of uptake of metal oxide nanoparticles by crop plants and plant response at different doses. Multi-omic tools considered include high-throughput proteomics and metabolomics using advanced liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. These tools will be used to probe the interactions at the protein and metabolite levels in plants exposed to metal oxide nanoparticles such as copper hydroxide, molybdenum oxide, manganese oxide and cerium oxide via foliar and soil application. Plasma-membrane proteins and apoplastic proteins are critical candidates for this study as they participate in communication between cells and the extracellular environment, ion transport, protein translocation/integration, and signal transduction. These protein in roots and leaves may be selectively enriched in the sample pool, helping to elucidate the main transport pathways. Analysis of hydrophilic and hydrophobic metabolites will also be fractionated for untargeted metabolomics. The candidate proteins and metabolites from untargeted -omic approach will be validated and quantified using targeted approaches across different exposure periods and concentrations, followed by meta-data integration to identify universal biomarkers of metal oxide nanoparticle exposure. The findings will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the routes of entry and localization of nanoparticles and simultaneous regulation of essential nutrients and plant metabolites. The results obtained will provide a benchmark for future research on targeted delivery of nutrients or other agrochemicals. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.