Accumulation of red elemental selenium nanoparticles and their biological effects in Nicotinia tabacum

The uptake, accumulation and biological effects of red nano-sized elemental selenium (nanoSe) in comparison to selenate were investigated in plant system at the first time. The data clearly indicated that red nanoSe was taken up by tobacco callus cultures and rooted tobacco plantlets. The roots of regenerated plantlets accumulated selenium in very high concentrations, 2,947 ± 99 mg/kg DW, from the medium containing 530 μM nanoSe. The biological effects of nanoSe were different from the selenate ion in plant tissue culture. NanoSe (265–530 μM concentration range) stimulated the organogenesis and the growth of root system significantly (~40 %) while selenate did not show these effects at any concentration moreover inhibited both callus growth and root regeneration totally in 265–530 μM concentrations.