Novel mesoporous silica nanoparticles enhances soybean salt-alkali stress resistance and yield by regulating photosynthetic carbon metabolism.

Authors

Yuxuan Huang, Yanli Du, Suyu Chen, Qifeng Pan, Qiang Zhao, Yuxian Zhang

Published in

Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB. Volume 238. Pages 111577. Jul 29, 2026. Epub Jul 29, 2026.

Abstract

Soil salinization-alkalization is a major abiotic stress factor limiting global crop productivity. Nanomaterials offer promising avenues for application in regulating plant stress tolerance due to their unique physical and chemical properties. In this study, the sol-gel method was optimized to synthesize a type of spherical, monodisperse, amorphous mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with an average particle size of 40-50 nm and a positive surface charge of 35 mV. A 20 mg L^-1 MSN solution was foliarly applied to two soybean cultivars, Hefeng 50 (HF50) and Henong 95 (HN95), in a pot experiment at the R1 stage to investigate its effects on plant growth and yield-related traits under saline-alkali stress (pH 9.2). MSNs treatment significantly alleviated the growth inhibition induced by saline-alkali stress. Specifically, MSN application increased plant height by 18.7% and 15.3%, leaf area by 27.3% and 22.8%, and total root volume by 41.2% and 37.5% for HF50 and HN95 when comparted with the control, respectively. This was accompanied by enhanced root activity (by up to 34.5%) and seed numbers per plant (by up to 28.6%). Mechanistically, reinforced physical barriers by activating cuticle and wax biosynthesis genes, while simultaneously reducing oxidative damage through the enhancement of antioxidant enzyme activities (e.g., SOD and CAT increased by 32.4% and 28.7% in leaves) and suppression of the hyperactive MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, MSNs boosted photosynthetic capacity, as evidenced by a 23.6% increase in total chlorophyll content and a 31.2% rise in net photosynthetic rate (Pn). This led to elevated carbohydrate levels in source leaves and, critically, promoted the reallocation of photosynthates to sink organs (seeds and roots) by modulating the activities of key carbon metabolism enzymes like sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) and invertases. These cumulative effects at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels resulted in a significant yield increase, with the 100-seed weight rising by 19.8% and 16.4% and total seed yield per plant increasing by 28.5% and 24.3% for HF50 and HN95 under stress. This study provides a mechanistic understanding and practical technology for leveraging MSNs to enhance crop productivity in saline-alkali soils.

PMID:
42537283
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 01 Aug 2026.

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