Iron oxide nanoparticles affect plant growth by negatively regulating soil bacterial community

Although nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the current agriculture system, there have been a few reported studies of the impact of nanoparticles on plants, showing that nanoparticles could have adverse effects. Studies have shown that these materials can have significant adverse effects on both plants and soil microbes in agroecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Fe2O3-NPs on the soil microbial community in connection to the growth of soybean plants. Nanoparticles were added to the soil at three different concentrations (0.4 %, 0.8 %, and 1.2 %). The effect of these soil amendments on soil bacterial community and plant growth attributes was checked. Results showed that the lowest concentration of the nanoparticles (0.4 %) did not affect the soil bacterial community structure and size, while nanoparticle amendment at 0.8 % and 1.2 % significantly altered the bacterial community size and structure. Taxonomic analysis revealed that the addition of nanoparticles suppressed the abundance of beneficial microbes that play essential plant-friendly roles. Moreover, plant growth and yield was significantly affected by adding nanoparticles at 0.8 % and 1.2 % nanoparticle concentration in the soil, which was correlated with the corresponding suppression of bacterial genera in the respective groups. These results reveal the potential toxicity of Fe2O3-NPs to soil microbe, which in turn affects plant growth and suggests that the hazardous impacts of the nanoparticles should be investigated before their large-scale application. (c) 2024 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of SAAB.