Ameliorating the Adverse Effects of Tomato mosaic tobamovirus Infecting Tomato Plants in Egypt by Boosting Immunity in Tomato Plants Using Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) is one of the economically damageable Tobamovirus infecting the tomato in Egypt that has caused significant losses. It is therefore of great interest to trigger systemic resistance to ToMV. In this endeavor, we aimed to explore the capacity of ZnO-NPs (zinc oxide nanoparticles) to trigger tomato plant resistance against ToMV. Effects of ZnO-NPs on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth indices and antioxidant defense system activity under ToMV stress were investigated. Noticeably that treatment with ZnO-NPs showed remarkably increased growth indices, photosynthetic attributes, and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants compared to the challenge control. Interestingly, oxidative damage caused by ToMV was reduced by reducing malondialdehyde, H2O2, and O-2 levels. Overall, ZnO-NPs offer a safe and economic antiviral agent against ToMV.

Automated summary

The study aimed to explore the capacity of ZnO-NPs to trigger tomato plant resistance against ToMV, showing significantly increased growth indices, photosynthetic attributes, and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. ZnO-NPs offer a safe and economic antiviral agent against ToMV by reducing oxidative damage caused by the virus.