Silicon (Si) plays important roles in alleviating heavy metal stress in rice plants. Here we investigated the physiological response of rice at different growth stages under the silicon-induced mitigation of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) toxicity. Si treatment increased the dry weight of shoots and roots and reduced the Cd and Zn concentrations in roots, stems, leaves and grains. Under the stress of exposure to Cd and Zn, photosynthetic parameters including the chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence decreased, while the membrane permeability and malondialdehyde (MDA) increased. Catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities increased under heavy metals stress, but superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities decreased. The magnitude of these Cd- and Zn-induced changes was mitigated by Si-addition at different growth stages. The available Cd concentration increased in the soil but significantly decreased in the shoots, which suggested that Si treatment prevents Cd accumulation through internal mechanisms by limiting Cd2+ uptake by the roots. Overall, the phenomena of Si-mediated alleviation of Cd and excess Zn toxicity in two rice cultivars could be due to the limitation of metal uptake and transport, resulting in an improvement in cell membrane integrity, photosynthetic performance and anti-oxidative enzyme activities after Si treatment.
Keywords: heavy metal toxicity; physiological response; phytotoxicity; systemic uptake.