Mitigating heavy metal pollution in agriculture: A multi-omics and nanotechnology approach to safeguard global wheat production

The escalating issue of heavy metal (HM) contamination in agricultural soils presents an urgent challenge to the sustainability of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production. This review underscores the critical need for innovative approaches to ensure food security while mitigating environmental degradation. The integration of nano and quantum technologies with multi-omics frameworks emerges as a groundbreaking solution to this pressing issue. HMs like Cd, As, and Pb severely impair plant physiology, leading to diminished yields and compromised grain quality. Nanoparticles such as ZnO, TiO₂, and MnO₂, along with quantum dots, have shown substantial promise in bolstering wheat's natural defense systems, enhancing both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant pathways, and reducing metal uptake through targeted detoxification mechanisms. By leveraging advanced omics technologies—transcriptomics, ionomics, proteomics, and metabolomics—researchers can unravel key molecular pathways and biomarkers, offering precision-guided interventions for metal stress management. Furthermore, future innovations like genome-editing technologies such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and transgenic techniques hold the potential to create wheat varieties inherently more resilient to environmental contaminants. The review highlights the necessity of long-term field trials and the exploration of under-researched metals and nanoparticles to bring these promising laboratory findings to real-world application. These combined strategies not only contribute to sustainable agriculture but also provide a viable path toward reducing the ecological footprint of HM contamination, thereby safeguarding global food security.