典型人工纳米材料干扰拟南芥生长繁殖及其与除草剂的复合毒理

The nanotechnology field is one of the fastest growing area of research and technology. The manufactured nanomaterials were frequently detected and monitored in the environment, and thus a new field of research emerged--nanotoxicology. However, there remain many unknown details about the interaction of nanoparticles and biological systems. We will select Arabidopsis thaliana as the plant model species in this project; because it’s whole genome sequencing and gene function has been analyzed on a large-scale, make Arabidopsis thaliana better than other plants for environmental molecular toxicology research. In this project, our research will underway to determine the mechanisms of biological response to manufactured nanomaterials and their joint toxicity with herbicides at the entire body, cellular and molecular levels. We will analyze the following points systematically: (1) the impacts of nanomaterials on plant various metabolic pathways in vegetative phase; (2) the impacts of nanomaterials on plant flowering, breeding in reproductive phase; (3) the joint impacts between nanomaterials and organic pollutants (herbicides) to generate the toxicity of plants. This research will help us to understand the comprehensive effects of residual nanomaterials on systematic growth, reproduction and diversity of plants, and increase our understanding of nanomaterials biological effects. At the same time, it is the key objective to research the toxicity and environmental risks of nanomaterials for the safe use of nanotechnology and to promote sustainable development of this rapidly flourishing industry, and for escaping the past axiom of pollute first, clean up later. It is beneficial to the development of nanomaterials.

纳米科技是当前发展最快的科学研究和技术开发领域之一。人工纳米材料是一种新型环境污染物，常在环境中检出，是当前毒理学研究热点。但对纳米材料的植物毒理，尤其对植物开花、繁殖等缺乏足够关注和研究。拟南芥为常用模式植物，有成熟的培养方法和丰富的分子生物研究手段。拟南芥全基因组的完整测序及大规模基因功能分析，因而比其它植物更适合于分子毒理学研究。本项目将以拟南芥为例，从生物整体、细胞、分子等层面研究纳米材料及其与除草剂的复合毒理；系统分析：(1)纳米材料对植物营养生长中各代谢途径影响；(2) 纳米材料对植物开花、繁殖等生殖阶段的影响；(3) 纳米材料与有机污染物(除草剂)对植物的复合毒性。项目的研究将帮助我们全面了解纳米材料对植物生长、特别是对植物生殖及多样性影响，增加对纳米材料生物效应的认识；同时，加强人工纳米材料环境效应与风险的研究，抛开“先发展后治理”老路，做到未雨绸缪，促进纳米材料健康发展。

本项目旨在研究典型纳米材料对拟南芥营养和生殖生长的影响，并分析其与除草剂的复合毒性。研究发现大部分纳米材料（包括金属纳米颗粒和碳纳米材料）处理植物后，可以诱导植物的氧化损伤并抑制植物生长；也有小部分纳米材料（如纳米氧化铝颗粒）的低浓度处理对植物有益，能促进其根系生长。其中，纳米银和纳米氧化铝等可通过改变拟南芥营养阶段多个代谢通路的基因转录水平和代谢物活性，实现对其生长的调控。此外，纳米银对结实期拟南芥花器官形态有较大影响，减少种荚长度并降低果实质量，在纳米银暴露下产生的拟南芥子代对纳米银再次暴露有更高的敏感性，即造成了遗传毒性。研究还发现纳米材料与除草剂能造成复合效应：其中纳米银和禾草灵、多壁碳纳米管和百草枯具有拮抗效应；而多壁碳纳米管与草甘膦则具有协同效应。项目共发表SCI收录论文24篇，申请专利2件，其中部分发表在ISME J，Microbiome，Environ Pollut，J Agric Food Chem，Sci Total Environ等环境领域知名期刊上。