EARTH.COM - Nanoparticles – microscopic specks released by cars, factories, forest fires, and volcanoes – float through every ecosystem on Earth.
Scientists are also designing these particles to precisely deliver fertilizers to crop roots, target pests with pesticides, or serve as tiny sensors that detect plant stress.
But new research, led by the University of California, Riverside, shows that once those particles enter a plant cell, they can change in unexpected ways and interfere with the plant’s ability to photosynthesize.
The researchers uncovered a chain reaction: inside the cell, nanoparticles pick up a greasy coating and then cling to RuBisCO, the enzyme that jump-starts photosynthesis. The result is a dramatic slowdown in the plant’s carbon-dioxide intake.
The discovery does not condemn the promise of agricultural nanotechnology, but it does force scientists to rethink how particles are designed.
Unintended consequences of nanoparticles
While many agricultural scientists see nanotechnology as a key to feeding a growing global population, even its strongest proponents admit that today’s fertilizers and pesticides are wildly inefficient.
Juan Pablo Giraldo is the senior author and an associate professor of plant biology at UC Riverside.