Potential of PM-selected components to induce oxidative stress and root system alteration in a plant model organism

Diego Piacentini; Giuseppina Falasca; Silvia Canepari; Lorenzo Massimi

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105094

Potential of PM-selected components to induce oxidative stress and root system alteration in a plant model organism

Environ Int. 2019 Nov:132:105094. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105094. Epub 2019 Sep 1.

Authors

Diego Piacentini¹, Giuseppina Falasca¹, Silvia Canepari², Lorenzo Massimi³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, P. le Aldo Moro, 5, Rome 00185, Italy.
² Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P. le Aldo Moro, 5, Rome 00185, Italy.
³ Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P. le Aldo Moro, 5, Rome 00185, Italy. Electronic address: l.massimi@uniroma1.it.

PMID: 31484097
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105094

Abstract

Over the last years, various acellular assays have been used for the evaluation of the oxidative potential (OP) of particular matter (PM) to predict PM capacity to generate reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species in biological systems. However, relationships among OP and PM toxicological effects on living organisms are still largely unknown. This study aims to assess the effects of atmospheric PM-selected components (brake dust - BD, pellet ash - PA, road dust - RD, certified urban dust NIST1648a - NIST, soil dust - S, coke dust - C and Saharan dust - SD) on the model plant A. thaliana development, with emphasis on their capacity to induce oxidative stress and root morphology alteration. Before growing A. thaliana in the presence of the PM-selected components, each atmospheric dust has been chemically characterized and tested for the OP through dithiothreitol (DTT), ascorbic acid (AA) and 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH) assays. After the exposure, element bioaccumulation in the A. thaliana seedlings, i.e., in roots and shoots, was determined and both morphological and oxidative stress analyses were performed in roots. The results indicated that, except for SD and S, all the tested dusts affected A. thaliana root system morphology, with the strongest effects in the presence of the highest OPs dusts (BD, PA and NIST). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed correlations among OPs of the dusts, element bioaccumulation and root morphology alteration, identifying the most responsible dust-associated elements affecting the plant. Lastly, histochemical analyses of NO and O₂^- content and distribution confirmed that BD, PA and NIST induce oxidative stress in A. thaliana, reflecting the high OPs of these dusts and ultimately leading to cell membrane lipid peroxidation.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; Atmospheric dust; Element bioaccumulation; Oxidative potential; Oxidative stress; Root morphology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / toxicity*
Arabidopsis / drug effects*
Arabidopsis / metabolism
Oxidative Stress / drug effects*
Particulate Matter / toxicity*
Plant Roots / drug effects
Plant Roots / metabolism
Plant Shoots / drug effects
Plant Shoots / metabolism
Soil Pollutants / toxicity*

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter
Soil Pollutants