2D-nanomaterials are possible future environmental pollutants.
The project aims at understanding their potential effects on the sexual reproduction of seed plants, a key biological processes for both terrestrial ecosystems and crops economy.
Previous experiments demonstrate that 2D-Nms can affect crop production, quality and fruit set.
Guess which summer squash fruits derive from plants exposed with graphene oxide....
Photographs of 5-week-old fruits of Cucurbita pepo L., entire (left column) or dissected (right column), originated from stigmas coated with 0 (CTRL) (a,b) or 1 mg of graphene oxide (c,d) and purified graphene oxide (e,f).
Graphene oxide nanoparticles, seeds and dead tissues are indicated with arrows, arrowheads and asterisks, respectively. Bars = 2 cm.
Graphene oxide flake visualized under a transmission electron microscope.
