Inhibition of the Germination of Root Parasitic Plants by Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8

Nouf Al Saleh; Lukman O Alimi; Muhammad Jamil; Somayah Qutub; Lamis Berqdar; Salim Al-Babili; Niveen M Khashab

doi:10.1002/cplu.202400457

Inhibition of the Germination of Root Parasitic Plants by Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8

Chempluschem. 2024 Sep 22:e202400457. doi: 10.1002/cplu.202400457. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Nouf Al Saleh¹, Lukman O Alimi², Muhammad Jamil³, Somayah Qutub⁴, Lamis Berqdar³, Salim Al-Babili³, Niveen M Khashab⁵

Affiliations

¹ King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Chemistry, SAUDI ARABIA.
² King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, chemistry, SAUDI ARABIA.
³ King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Plant Science, SAUDI ARABIA.
⁴ King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Bioengineering, SAUDI ARABIA.
⁵ King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, KAUST, 4700 King Abdullah University, 23955, Thuwal, SAUDI ARABIA.

PMID: 39307838
DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202400457

Abstract

Crystalline ZIF-8 (C-ZIF-8) and amorphous ZIF-8 (Am-ZIF-8) were prepared and investigated to control the germination of Striga hermonthica, a root parasitic plant, which threatens cereal crops production particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. We have demonstrated that Am-ZIF-8 shows a better performance than C-ZIF-8 in inhibiting Striga seed germination. This efficient performance of Am-ZIF-8 materials can be attributed to the incomplete deprotonation of 2 methylimidazole (2MIM) during amorphization, leading to the presence of unsaturated Zn-N coordination with the uncoordinated -NH groups available to undergo hydrogen bonding with the strigolactone analog GR24 forming a more stable Am-ZIF-8···GR24 hydrogen bonded network. We further established that application of ZIF-8 materials generally has no adverse effects on the growth and quality of rice crops.

Keywords: amorphous ZIF-8; hydrogen bonding; rice growth; striga seeds germination; strigolactone analog GR24.