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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp4 (2026): National Symposium on Recent Advances in Life Sciences

Magnetite nanoparticles mitigate arsenic stress by enhancing chlorophyll pigments, photosynthetic efficiency and psbA expression in black gram (Vigna mungo L.)

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.12880
Submitted
23 November 2025
Published
16-06-2026

Abstract

The study examines the effects of biosynthesised magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) on the physiological and molecular properties of arsenic-stressed black gram (Vigna mungo L.) varieties, Pratap Urad-1 and Pratap Urad-31. Arsenic treatment (40 and 60 µM) led to differential responses, evaluated through measurements of photosynthetic pigments, photosynthetic efficiency and psbA gene expression, a key regulator of Photosystem II. The analyses involved pigments quantification, psbA mRNA isolation and real-time PCR to monitor the stress-induced gene expression. The MNPs foliar application, especially at 50 mg L-1, led to a significant rise in chlorophyll content (36, 43 % and 51, 62 % in PU-1 and PU-31, respectively) under arsenic toxicity (40 and 60 µM). It also improved photosynthetic activity through the substantial increase of ΔF/Fm′sat and ETRmax in control and stressed plants. The psbA expression was induced by treatment with 50 mg L-1 MNPs, with an increase of 72 % and 66 % in PU-1 and 47 % and 41 % in PU-31 under 40 and 60 µM of arsenic, respectively. The enhanced antioxidant activities also contributed to the removal of oxidative damage by free radical scavenging. Overall, PU-1 exposed to arsenic showed more tolerability than PU-31, especially at the higher stress level (60 µM). The 50 mg L-1 MNPs was determined to be the most effective in mitigating the toxicity, while the higher concentration (100 mg L-1) caused adverse effects due to stress in both varieties. These findings point out the great potential of MNPs as an eco-friendly and efficient approach to increase the tolerance of black gram cultivated in arsenic-contaminated soils.

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