Phytotoxic effects on chloroplast and UHPLC-HRMS based untargeted metabolomic responses in Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Sprengel (Chinese leek) exposed to antibiotics

Kiran Yasmin Khan; Barkat Ali; Shuang Zhang; Peter Joseph Stoffella; Shiyu Shi; Qian Xia; Xiaoqiang Cui; Zeshan Ali; Ya Guo

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113418

Phytotoxic effects on chloroplast and UHPLC-HRMS based untargeted metabolomic responses in Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Sprengel (Chinese leek) exposed to antibiotics

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2022 Apr 1:234:113418. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113418. Epub 2022 Mar 15.

Authors

Kiran Yasmin Khan¹, Barkat Ali², Shuang Zhang³, Peter Joseph Stoffella⁴, Shiyu Shi⁵, Qian Xia¹, Xiaoqiang Cui⁶, Zeshan Ali⁷, Ya Guo⁸

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Advanced Process Control for Light Industry, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
² The Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; National Agricultural Research Centre, 44000 Islamabad, Pakistan.
³ The Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
⁴ Indian River Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, United States.
⁵ Dalian Chem Data Solution Information Technology Co. Ltd, Dalian 116000, China.
⁶ School of Environmental Science and Engineering/Tianjin Key Lab of Biomass Waste Utilization, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
⁷ Plant Physiology Program, Crop Sciences Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Park Road, PO 45500, Islamabad, Pakistan.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Advanced Process Control for Light Industry, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China. Electronic address: guoy@jiangnan.edu.cn.

PMID: 35304336
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113418

Abstract

Introduction of antibiotics into agricultural fields poses serious health risks to humans. This study investigated the uptake of antibiotics, their effects on metabolic pathways, and chloroplast structure changes of Allium tuberosum exposed to norfloxacin (NFL), oxytetracycline (OTC), and tetracycline (TC). Among all the antibiotic treatments, the highest accumulation of antibiotics in roots (4.15 mg/kg) and leaves (0.29 mg/kg) was TC, while in bulbs it was NFL (5.94 mg/kg). OTC was with the lowest accumulation in roots: 0.19 mg/kg, bulbs: 0.18 mg/kg, and leaves: 0.11 mg/kg. The number of mitochondira and the number of plastoglobulli increased. The chloroplast structure was disturbed under the stress of NFL, OTC, and TC. Disturbance in the chloroplast ultrastructure leads to altered chlorophyll fluorescence variables. Simultaneously, metabolomic profiling of leaves demonstrated that NFL stress regulated more of metabolic pathways than OTC and TC. Differences in metabolic pathways among the antibiotic treatments showed that each antibiotic has different impact even under the same experimental conditions. TC and NFL have more toxic effects than OTC antibiotic. Metabolic variations induced by antibiotics stress highlighted pools of metabolites that affect the metabolic activities, chlorophyll fluorescence, ultrastructural adjustments, and stimulate defensive impact in A. tubersoum. These findings provide an insight of metabolic destabilization as well as metabolic changes in defensive mechanism and stress response of A. tuberosum to different antibiotics.

Keywords: Chlorophyll Fluorescence; Contamination; Norfloxacin; Oxytetracycline; Tetracycline.