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Nitrogen and nitrogen isotope data for wheat and barley exposed to CeO2 nanoparticles

Published by U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Metadata Last Checked: August 02, 2025 | Last Modified: 2018-03-15
The effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2-NPs) on 15N/14N ratio (δ15N) in wheat and barley were investigated. Seedlings were exposed to 0 and 500 mg CeO2-NPs/L (Ce-0 and Ce-500, respectively) in hydroponic suspension supplied with NH4NO3, NH4+, or NO3-. N uptake and δ15N discrimination (i.e. differences in δ15N of plant and δ15N of N source) were measured. Results showed that N content and 15N abundance decreased in wheat but increased in barley. Ce-500 only induced whole-plant δ15N discrimination (-1.48‰, P ≤ 0.10) with a simultaneous decrease (P ≤ 0.05) in whole-plant δ15N (-3.24‰) compared to Ce-0 (-2.74‰) in wheat in NH4+. Ce-500 decreased (P ≤ 0.01) root δ15N of wheat in NH4NO3 and NH4+ (3.23 and -2.25‰, respectively) compared to Ce-0 (4.96 and -1.27‰, respectively), but increased (P ≤ 0.05) root δ15N of wheat in NO3- (3.27‰) compared to Ce-0 (2.60‰). Synchrotron micro-XRF revealed the presence of CeO2-NPs in shoots of wheat and barley regardless of N source. Although the longer-term consequences of CeO2-NP exposure on N uptake and metabolism are unknown, the results clearly show the potential for ENMs to interfere with plant metabolism of critical plant nutrients such as N even when toxicity is not observed. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Rico, C.M., M. Johnson, M.A. Marcus, and C.P. Andersen. Shifts in N and δ15N in wheat and barley exposed to cerium oxide nanoparticles. NanoImpact. Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, 11: 156-163, (2018).

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