Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Alleviate Cold Stress in Rice by Reducing Oxidative Damage and Enhancing Antioxidant Defense Systems, and Transcriptional Networks.
4 affiliations
- 1National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
- 2National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
- 3Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Crop Production Sciences, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar, 25130, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
- 4National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China. [email protected].
Abstract
Cold stress significantly impairs the rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth and yield, particularly in temperate regions where abrupt temperature fluctuations often occur during the early growth stages. Given the need for novel strategies to improve crop cold tolerance, we evaluated the efficacy of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₂O₃) in enhancing rice cold stress resilience. The reported mechanisms involve promoting plant growth and development, alleviating oxidative stress and inducing defense responses. Using RNA-seq, we analyzed the physiological and transcriptomic responses of rice to cold stress and Fe₂O₃ treatment. Under cold stress, the NPs elicited a strong antioxidant response-elevating superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activities, which led to a marked reduction in oxidative damage, as shown by decreased ROS and MDA levels. Transcriptomic analysis further revealed that NP treatment modulated key pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis, hormone signaling, and antioxidant metabolism. Collectively, our findings establish that Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles ameliorate cold stress by preserving chloroplast structure, stomatal architecture, reduce oxidative stress marker, enhancing antioxidant defense system and stabilize photosystem and providing a promising nanozyme-based approach for rice protection against cold induce damage.
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BibTeX
@article{ullah2026iron,
title = {{Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Alleviate Cold Stress in Rice by Reducing Oxidative Damage and Enhancing Antioxidant Defense Systems, and Transcriptional Networks.}},
author = {Shafi Ullah and Muhammad Ateeq and Dongliang Xiong and Atika Khan and Liwu Sui and Ehtisham Hassan Khan and Muhammad Waqas and Na Yang and Huang Jianliang},
journal = {Rice (New York, N.Y.)},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12284-026-00940-6},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907618},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Alleviate Cold Stress in Rice by Reducing Oxidative Damage and Enhancing Antioxidant Defense Systems, and Transcriptional Networks.
AU - Shafi Ullah
AU - Muhammad Ateeq
AU - Dongliang Xiong
AU - Atika Khan
AU - Liwu Sui
AU - Ehtisham Hassan Khan
AU - Muhammad Waqas
AU - Na Yang
AU - Huang Jianliang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/25
JO - Rice (New York, N.Y.)
DO - 10.1186/s12284-026-00940-6
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907618
AB - Cold stress significantly impairs the rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth and yield, particularly in temperate regions where abrupt temperature fluctuations often occur during the early growth stages. Given the need for novel strategies to improve crop cold tolerance, we evaluated the efficacy of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₂O₃) in enhancing rice cold stress resilience. The reported mechanisms involve promoting plant growth and development, alleviating oxidative stress and inducing defense responses. Using RNA-seq, we analyzed the physiological and transcriptomic responses of rice to cold stress and Fe₂O₃ treatment. Under cold stress, the NPs elicited a strong antioxidant response-elevating superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activities, which led to a marked reduction in oxidative damage, as shown by decreased ROS and MDA levels. Transcriptomic analysis further revealed that NP treatment modulated key pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis, hormone signaling, and antioxidant metabolism. Collectively, our findings establish that Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles ameliorate cold stress by preserving chloroplast structure, stomatal architecture, reduce oxidative stress marker, enhancing antioxidant defense system and stabilize photosystem and providing a promising nanozyme-based approach for rice protection against cold induce damage.
SN - 1939-8425
SN - 1939-8433
ER -