Seed priming with polyethylene glycol regulating the physiological and molecular mechanism in rice (Oryza sativa L.) under nano-ZnO stress

The present study was designed to highlight the impact of seed priming with polyethylene glycol on physiological and molecular mechanism of two cultivars of Oryza sativa L. under different levels of zinc oxide nanorods (0, 250, 500 and 750 mg L−1). Plant growth parameters were significantly increased in seed priming with 30% PEG under nano-ZnO stress in both cultivars. Whereas, this increase was more prominent in cultivar Qian You No. 1 as compared to cultivar Zhu Liang You 06. Significant increase in photosynthetic pigment with PEG priming under stress. Antioxidant enzymes activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were significantly reduced with PEG priming under nano-ZnO stress. Gene expression analysis also suggested that expression of APXa, APXb, CATa, CATb, CATc, SOD1, SOD2 and SOD3 genes were down regulated with PEG priming as compared to non-primed seeds under stress. The ultrastructural analysis showed that leaf mesophyll and root cells were significantly damaged under nano-ZnO stress in both cultivars but the damage was prominent in Zhu Liang You 06. However, seed priming with PEG significantly alleviate the toxic effects of nano-ZnO stress and improved the cell structures of leaf and roots in both cultivars.