温度响应型瓶刷聚合物在体内提供应力调节剂，用于长期缓解植物热应力《ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering》

Temperature-Responsive Bottlebrush Polymers Deliver a Stress-Regulating Agent In Vivo for Prolonged Plant Heat Stress Mitigation

Yilin Zhang, Liye Fu, Michael R. Martinez, Hui Sun, Valeria Nava, Jiajun Yan, Kurt Ristroph, Saadyah E. Averick, Benedetto Marelli, Juan Pablo Giraldo, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Robert D. Tilton*, and Gregory V. Lowry*

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering   and   Center for Environmental Implications of Nano Technology (CEINT), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2023, 11, 8, 3346–3358

Publication Date: February 14, 2023

https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c06461

Abstract

Anticipated increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme temperatures will damage crops. Methods that efficiently deliver stress-regulating agents to crops can mitigate these effects. Here, we describe high aspect ratio polymer bottlebrushes for temperature-controlled agent delivery in plants. The foliar-applied bottlebrush polymers had near complete uptake into the leaf and resided in both the apoplastic regions of the leaf mesophyll and in cells surrounding the vasculature. Elevated temperature enhanced the in vivo release of spermidine (a stress-regulating agent) from the bottlebrushes, promoting tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum) photosynthesis under heat and light stress. The bottlebrushes continued to provide protection against heat stress for at least 15 days after foliar application, whereas free spermidine did not. About 30% of the ∼80 nm short and ∼300 nm long bottlebrushes entered the phloem and moved to other plant organs, enabling heat-activated release of plant protection agents in phloem. These results indicate the ability of the polymer bottlebrushes to release encapsulated stress relief agents when triggered by heat to provide long-term protection to plants and the potential to manage plant phloem pathogens. Overall, this temperature-responsive delivery platform provides a new tool for protecting plants against climate-induced damage and yield loss.

KEYWORDS:

• heat stress

• climate change

• temperature responsive

• agrochemical delivery

• sustainable agriculture

• SUBJECTS:

• Plant derived food,

• Plants,

• Polymers,

• Star polymers,

• Stress