Alleviation of Cadmium Stress in Wheat by Polyamines

Background: Microalgae are the source of various compounds with high potentials for being used in different industries. The production of such compounds can be raised under extreme conditions. In the present study, four cyanobacteria and one coccoid green alga were examined which were isolated from hot springs in high background radiation areas in Ramsar, a city in the north of Iran. Methods: Cadmium adsorption from aqueous solution, response towards cadmium stress, antioxidant activity, total phenolic compound and drought tolerance were investigated in these microalgae. Results: The results showed that these extremophile microalgae contain valuable biological compounds which can be useful in remediation of heavy metals from contaminated water and soils and pharmaceutical applications. The unicellular cyanobacterium, Chroococidiopsis thermalis IBRC-M50002, was the best strain with the highest biological activity in various testes such as cadmium adsorption (225 mg g-1), cadmium tolerance stress (100 mg ml-1), antioxidant activity (IC50= 18 μg mg-1) and total phenol content (100 μg ml-1). The coccoid green algae Grasiella emersonii IBRC-M50001, also exhibited significant antioxidant activity (IC50=10 μg mg-1) and total phenol compound (116 μg ml-1), but its cadmium adsorption, tolerance at cadmium stress and desiccation were lower than Chroococidiopsis thermalis. Conclusion: HBRAs microalgae, isolated from extreme conditions, are useful microorganisms for the production of bioactive substances and natural antioxidants. In other words, they exhibited high capacity to be used in pharmaceutical, industrial and commercial applications.

Download Full-text

Growth and Antioxidant Responses in Iron-Biofortified Lentil under Cadmium Stress

Toxics ◽

10.3390/toxics9080182 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 182

Author(s):

Ruchi Bansal ◽

Swati Priya ◽

Harsh Kumar Dikshit ◽

Sherry Rachel Jacob ◽

Mahesh Rao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Parameters ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Cadmium Stress ◽

Antioxidant Enzyme Activities ◽

Limited Information ◽

Cd Stress ◽

Fresh Weight ◽

Cd Uptake ◽

Cd Tolerance ◽

Controlled Conditions

Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous heavy metal, toxic to our ecosystem even at low concentrations. Cd stress negatively affects plant growth and development by triggering oxidative stress. Limited information is available on the role of iron (Fe) in ameliorating Cd stress tolerance in legumes. This study assessed the effect of Cd stress in two lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) varieties differing in seed Fe concentration (L4717 (Fe-biofortified) and JL3) under controlled conditions. Six biochemical traits, five growth parameters, and Cd uptake were recorded at the seedling stage (21 days after sowing) in the studied genotypes grown under controlled conditions at two levels (100 μM and 200 μM) of cadmium chloride (CdCl2). The studied traits revealed significant genotype, treatment, and genotype × treatment interactions. Cd-induced oxidative damage led to the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde in both genotypes. JL3 accumulated 77.1% more H2O2 and 75% more lipid peroxidation products than L4717 at the high Cd level. Antioxidant enzyme activities increased in response to Cd stress, with significant genotype, treatment, and genotype × treatment interactions (p < 0.01). L4717 had remarkably higher catalase (40.5%), peroxidase (43.9%), superoxide dismutase (31.7%), and glutathione reductase (47.3%) activities than JL3 under high Cd conditions. In addition, L4717 sustained better growth in terms of fresh weight and dry weight than JL3 under stress. JL3 exhibited high Cd uptake (14.87 mg g−1 fresh weight) compared to L4717 (7.32 mg g−1 fresh weight). The study concluded that the Fe-biofortified lentil genotype L4717 exhibited Cd tolerance by inciting an efficient antioxidative response to Cd toxicity. Further studies are required to elucidate the possibility of seed Fe content as a surrogacy trait for Cd tolerance.

Download Full-text

Effects of cadmium stress on growth and physiological characteristics of sassafras seedlings

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-89322-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hongyi Zhao ◽

Juelan Guan ◽

Qing Liang ◽

Xueyuan Zhang ◽

Hongling Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Peroxide ◽

Sugar Content ◽

Soluble Sugar ◽

Cadmium Concentration ◽

Cadmium Stress ◽

Proline Content ◽

Physiological Characteristics ◽

Control Treatment ◽

Gas Exchange Parameters ◽

Photosynthetic Gas Exchange

AbstractThe effects of cadmium stress on the growth and physiological characteristics of Sassafras tzumu Hemsl. were studied in pot experiments. Five Cd levels were tested [CT(Control Treatment) : 0 mg/kg, Cd5: 5 mg/kg, Cd20: 20 mg/kg, Cd50: 50 mg/kg, and Cd100: 100 mg/kg]. The growth and physiological characteristics of the sassafras seedlings in each level were measured. The results showed that soil Cd had negative influences on sassafras growth and reduced the net growth of plant height and the biomass of leaf, branch and root. Significant reductions were recorded in root biomass by 18.18%(Cd5), 27.35%(Cd20), 27.57%(Cd50) and 28.95%(Cd100). The contents of hydrogen peroxide decreased first then increased while malondialdehyde showed the opposite trend with increasing cadmium concentration. Decreases were found in hydrogen peroxide contents by 10.96%(Cd5), 11.82%(Cd20) and 7.02%(Cd50); increases were found in malondialdehyde contents by 15.47%(Cd5), 16.07%(Cd20) and 7.85%(Cd50), indicating that cadmium stress had a certain effect on the peroxidation of the inner cell membranes in the seedlings that resulted in damage to the cell membrane structure. Superoxide dismutase activity decreased among treatments by 17.05%(Cd5), 10,68%(Cd20), 20.85%(Cd50) and 8.91%(Cd100), while peroxidase activity increased steadily with increasing cadmium concentration; these results suggest that peroxidase is likely the main protective enzyme involved in the reactive oxygen removal system in sassafras seedlings. Upward trends were observed in proline content by 90.76%(Cd5), 74.36%(Cd20), 99.73%(Cd50) and 126.01%(Cd100). The increase in proline content with increasing cadmium concentration indicated that cadmium stress induced proline synthesis to resist osmotic stress in the seedlings. Compared to that in CT, the soluble sugar content declined under the different treatments by 32.84%(Cd5), 5.85%(Cd20), 25.55%(Cd50) and 38.69%(Cd100). Increases were observed in the soluble protein content by 2.34%(Cd5), 21.36%(Cd20), 53.15%(Cd50) and 24.22%(Cd100). At different levels of cadmium stress, the chlorophyll content in the seedlings first increased and then decreased, and it was higher in the Cd5 and Cd20 treatments than that in the CT treatment. These results reflected that cadmium had photosynthesis-promoting effects at low concentrations and photosynthesis-suppressing effects at high concentrations. The photosynthetic gas exchange parameters and photosynthetic light-response parameters showed downward trends with increasing cadmium concentration compared with those in CT; these results reflected the negative effects of cadmium stress on photosynthesis in sassafras seedlings.

Download Full-text