Selenium and Nano-Selenium in Environmental Stress Management and Crop Quality Improvement

Crop plants growing under field conditions are constantly exposed to various abiotic and biotic stress factors leading to decreased yield and quality of produce. In order to achieve sustainable development in agriculture and to increase agricultural production for feeding an increasing global population, it is necessary to use ecologically compatible and environmentally friendly strategies to decrease the adverse effects of stresses on the plant. Selenium is one of the critical elements from the biological contexts because it is essential for human health; however, it becomes toxic at high concentrations. It has been widely reported that selenium can promote plant growth and alleviate various stresses as well as increase the quantity and quality of the yield of many plant species. Nonetheless, at high concentrations, selenium causes phytotoxicity. In the last decade, nanotechnology has emerged as a prominent tool for enhancing agricultural productivity. The production and applicationsof nanoparticles (NPs) have greatly increased in many industries, such as energy production, healthcare, agriculture, and environmental protection. The application of NPs has attracted interest for their potential to alleviate abiotic and biotic stresses in a more rapid, cost-effective, and more sustainable way than conventional treatment technologies. Recently, research related to selenium-NPs-mediated abiotic stresses and nutritional improvements in plants has received considerable interest by the scientific community. While significant progress was made in selenium biochemistry in relation to stress tolerance, an in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with the selenium- and nano-selenium-mediated stress tolerance and bio-fortification in plants is still lacking. Gaining a better knowledge of the regulatory and molecular mechanisms that control selenium uptake, assimilation, and tolerance in plants is therefore vital and necessary to develop modern crop varieties that are more resilient to environmental stress.

1)Sources of selenium and nano-selenium in soil and plants.- (2)Use of selenium and nano-selenium in agro-biotechnologies.- (3)Selenium and nano-selenium as a new frontier of biostimulants.- (4)Selenium and nano-selenium in plant nutrition and crop quality.- (5)Uptake and metabolism of selenium in plants: recent progress and future perspectives.- (6)Synthesis and characterization of nano-selenium using plant biomolecules and their potential applications.- (7)Selenium and nano-selenium mediated salt stress tolerance in plants.- (8)Selenium and nano-selenium mediated drought stress tolerance in plants.- (9)Selenium and nano-selenium mediated heat stress tolerance in plants.- (10)Selenium and nano-selenium mediated cold stress tolerance in plants.- (11)Selenium and nano-selenium mediated heavy metal stress tolerance in plants.- (12)Selenium and nano-selenium mediated biotic stress tolerance in plants.- (13)Selenium bioavailability and nutritional improvements in crop plants.- (14)Effect of selenium application on quality improvements of seeds and fruits.- (15)The genetics of selenium accumulation by plants: recent progress and future perspectives.- (16)Agronomic bio-fortification crops with exogenous selenium application.- (17)Selenium toxicity and tolerance in plants: recent progress and future perspectives.- (18) Selenium bio-fortification for quality and nutritional improvements.- (19)Manipulation of selenium metabolism in plants for tolerance and accumulation.- (20)Selenium hyper-accumulation and phytoremediation: recent progress and future perspectives.- (21) Selenium in food chain in relation to human and animal nutrition and health.