Do freeze-thaw cycles affect the cadmium accumulation, subcellular distribution, and chemical forms in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)?

Quan-Ying Wang; Nai-Wen Hu; Hong-Wen Yu; Qi-Rong Wang; Yu-Xin Liu; Jing Yue; Bo Hu

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112952

Do freeze-thaw cycles affect the cadmium accumulation, subcellular distribution, and chemical forms in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)?

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2021 Nov 1:228:112952. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112952. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Quan-Ying Wang¹, Nai-Wen Hu², Hong-Wen Yu³, Qi-Rong Wang⁴, Yu-Xin Liu⁵, Jing Yue⁶, Bo Hu⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Wet Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China. Electronic address: qywang@iga.ac.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Wet Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: yingquan-2001150@163.com.
³ Key Laboratory of Wet Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China. Electronic address: yuhw@iga.ac.cn.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Wet Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China. Electronic address: 1354960038@qq.com.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Wet Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: lyx15543133989@163.com.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Wet Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China. Electronic address: yuejing@iga.ac.cn.
⁷ Agricultural Technology and Extension Center of Jilin Province, Changchun 130033, China. Electronic address: 124535173@qq.com.

PMID: 34736033
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112952

Abstract

To date, although there are many studies investigating the toxicity of heavy metal to plant, little research exists in the seasonal freeze-thaw (FT) regions where FT cycles often happen during the plant growing process. To reveal the adaptive mechanisms of plants to the combination stresses of cadmium (Cd) and FT, the Cd accumulation, subcellular distribution, chemical forms, and antioxidant enzyme activity (peroxidase (POD)) were investigated in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) growing under different soil Cd levels (i.e., 0.10 mg Cd kg^-1 soil (low), 1.21 mg Cd kg^-1 soil (medium), and 2.57 mg Cd kg^-1 soil (high)). Compared to the non-freeze-thaw (NFT) treatments, higher Cd concentrations in the root and lower translocation factors from root to leaf were found for the plants experiencing FT cycles. FT significantly decreased the Cd concentrations in the leaves under the low- and medium-Cd treatments, while similar values were found for the high-Cd treatments. Generally, FT could decrease the concentrations and proportions of Cd stored in the cell wall and soluble fractions and increase them in the organelle fractions for the medium- and high-Cd treatments, while opposite tendency was found for the low-Cd treatments. Moreover, larger Cd amounts in the inorganic and water-soluble forms were found for the low- and medium-Cd treated plants under FT, while lower values were found for the high-Cd treatments. Additionally, POD, which presented higher activities at the low- and medium-Cd treatments and lower activities at the high-Cd treatments under FT, were also significantly influenced by the Cd × FT interaction. This study indicated that FT could significantly change the accumulations of Cd in plant, and it provided a new insight into the Cd accumulation by plants in the seasonal FT region.

Keywords: Antioxidant enzyme; Cadmium; Chemical forms; Freeze-thaw cycles; Spinach; Subcellular distribution.