Synthesis of chitin nanocrystals supported Zn with high activity against tobacco mosaic virus.

Chitin is a kind of natural nitrogenous organic polysaccharide. It contains antibacterial and antiviral properties, and it can induce plant disease resistance and promote plant growth. However, its application is constrained due to its insolubility and intricate molecular structure. Tobacco mosaic disease is caused by tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infection, which seriously harms tobacco production. Zinc-containing chemical agents are commonly used to control tobacco mosaic disease, but overuse of chemical agents will cause serious environmental pollution. In this study, a novel nanomaterial (ChNC@Zn) was prepared by using chitin nanocrystals loaded with Zn, which has the function of inducing disease resistance to plants and reducing virus activity. When the Zn concentration of ChNC@Zn is 105.6 μg/mL, it shows higher resistance to TMV than Lentinan (LNT). ChNC@Zn can improve the enzymes activities of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) in tobacco, and reduce the damage of reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by TMV infection, thereby inducing resistance to TMV in tobacco. Besides, it can promote the growth of tobacco. As a result, ChNC@Zn can exhibit strong antiviral activity at low Zn concentration and minimize the pollution of Zn to the environment, which has high potential application value in the control of virus disease.