Paper Details

PJB-2023-335

The potential of thiourea in amelioration of nickel toxicity in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars

Sana Kanwal, Muhammad Sajid Aqeel Ahmad, Alia Riffat, Wasifa Rani, Hamdia Mujahid and Maliha Amjad
Abstract

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Nickel (Ni) stress is vital environmental stress which has reduced plant productivity worldwide. Thiourea (TU) is a key regulator of plant development which improves physiological and biochemical mechanisms of plants under Ni toxicity. To explore the part of TU in mitigating Ni toxicity, we investigated various levels of TU (50, 100 mM) for 40 days on phenotypic, photosynthetic, antioxidant activity and organic and inorganic osmolytes of barley cultivars. The results depicted that Ni stress (50 mM) significantly reduced all studied growth parameters, photosynthetic content, antioxidative activity, organic osmolytes (soluble proteins and sugars), and inorganic osmolytes (K⁺ and Ca²⁺) in shoot and root of barley cultivars. However, the application of TU (100 mM) highly improved above mentioned growth attributes, photosynthetic content, antioxidative activity, and organic and inorganic osmolyte content and proved very effective in reversing the Ni toxicity effect. Thiourea application proved very effective in balancing endogenous metabolite levels under Ni stress conditions. The cultivar, Sultan-17 proved Ni-tolerant, while Jou-17 exhibited Ni sensitivity. On the whole, TU at 100 mM proved very effective in enhancing barley growth under Ni stress. The outcomes of current study may have good inferences for growing barley under Ni-toxic conditions.

 

 

To Cite this article: Kanwal, S., M.S.A. Ahmad, A. Riffat, W. Rani, H. Mujahid and M. Amjad. 2026. The potential of thiourea in amelioration of nickel toxicity in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars. Pak. J. Bot., 58(1): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2026-1(25)  
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