Abstract This study investigated the effects of MgO nanoparticles and NaCl on the Triticale cultivar (Tatlıcak) to evaluate both physiological–molecular responses and gamma radiation shielding capacities. The work aimed to clarify how varying concentrations of MgO and NaCl influence gene expression, callus development, and radiation attenuation properties to identify optimal formulations for enhanced stress tolerance and shielding effectiveness.Tatlıcak mature embryos were surface-sterilized and cultured on MS-based media, followed by callus induction under controlled environmental conditions. Eleven culture environments with different MgO and NaCl levels were prepared based on theoretical density calculations. Total RNA from callus tissues was extracted for RT-qPCR to assess gene expression levels. Gamma radiation shielding parameters, including MAC (Mass Attenuation Coefficient, cm 2 /g), LAC (Linear Attenuation Coefficient, cm⁻ 1 ), HVL (Half Value Layer, cm), TVL (Tenth Value Layer, cm), MFP (Mean Free Path, cm), Z eff (Effective Atomic Number), N eff (Electron Density, electrons/g), EABF (Energy Absorption Build-up Factor), and EBF (Exposure Build-up Factor), were obtained using a combination of experimental techniques and theoretical models, and then evaluated across the prepared samples.The experimental MAC values across the samples showed a strong agreement with the theoretical and software-generated data. Density-based variations among the T0–T11 samples resulted in distinct attenuation profiles, with the lowest MAC value recorded in the T5 sample. Simultaneously, gene expression analyses revealed measurable variations in stress-related transcription factors following exposure to MgO NP and NaCl.Our findings suggest that the physical radiation-shielding properties of the media and the biological stress responses of the callus exhibit consistent trends. The results indicate that specific concentrations of MgO–NaCl can modulate the growth environment, thereby affecting both stress resilience and protective performance in Triticale systems.
Sola et al. (Wed,) studied this question.