SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Genotypic Modulation of Nanoparticles-Induced Tolerance in Heavy Metals-Stressed Crops; A Literature Review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Thal University Bhakkar, Bhakkar, Pakistan
- 2University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
- 3Universidad Catolica de Temuco, Temuco, Chile
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
To address the limited understanding of genotypic responses mediated by nanoparticles under heavy metal stress, this review summarizes research on "Genotypic Modulation of Nanoparticles-Induced Tolerance in Heavy Metals-Stressed Crops". Topics covered include heavy metal toxicity in agriculture, including global prevalence and impacts on crop yield, soil health, and food safety; current mitigation strategies and their limitations; nanoparticles as a novel solution with unique properties and examples; research gaps focusing on physiological effects versus genotypic diversity; and review objectives focusing on NP-induced genotypic modulation and proposing a nano-genomic approach integrating omics tools. The review's objectives were to compare physiological and genotypic crop responses, assess the effects of heavy metal toxicity, benchmark mitigation techniques, describe the functions of nanoparticles, and suggest an integrated nano-genomic framework. Relevant research from around the world was examined, with a focus on multi-omics techniques and the use of nanoparticles in a variety of crops. The results show that while genotypic variation affects tolerance mechanisms mediated by differential gene expression and epigenetic regulation, nanoparticles outperform conventional methods in improving physiological traits, reducing metal uptake, and enhancing antioxidant defenses. Although multi-omics integration clarifies the intricate molecular networks that underlie the reduction of stress caused by nanoparticles, it is still constrained by methodological heterogeneity and insufficient data synthesis. Even though nanoparticle properties and application methods have a significant impact on efficacy, further study is required to ascertain long-term impacts and environmental safety. Despite significant properties and application methods, still it required more study and research for long-term impacts and environmental safety and sustainability. Altogether, it will contribute to novel nano-genomic strategies for constraining sustainable crop resilience against heavy metal contamination.
Keywords: Epigenetic regulations, Genotypic modulation, Heavy metals stress, nano-genomics, nanoparticles-induced tolerance
Received: 17 Aug 2025; Accepted: 19 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hammad, Riaz, Chouhdary, Kabir and De Los Rios-Escalante. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Muhammad Hammad
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.