Salicylic Acid's impact on Sedum alfredii growth and cadmium tolerance: Comparative physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic study

An Shi; Junlong Xu; Yudie Shao; Hend Alwathnani; Christopher Rensing; JinLin Zhang; Shihe Xing; Wuzhong Ni; Liming Zhang; Wenhao Yang

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.119092

Salicylic Acid's impact on Sedum alfredii growth and cadmium tolerance: Comparative physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic study

Environ Res. 2024 May 8;252(Pt 4):119092. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119092. Online ahead of print.

Authors

An Shi¹, Junlong Xu¹, Yudie Shao¹, Hend Alwathnani², Christopher Rensing³, JinLin Zhang⁴, Shihe Xing¹, Wuzhong Ni⁵, Liming Zhang⁶, Wenhao Yang⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Soil Ecosystem Health and Regulation of Fujian Provincial University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
² Department of Botany and Microbiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Environmental Microbiology, Fujian Agriculture & Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Center for Grassland Microbiome, State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
⁵ College of Environment and Resources, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Soil Ecosystem Health and Regulation of Fujian Provincial University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China. Electronic address: fjaulmzhang@163.com.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Soil Ecosystem Health and Regulation of Fujian Provincial University, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China. Electronic address: whyang@fafu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38729407
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119092

Abstract

With the acceleration of industrialization, Cd pollution has emerged as a major threat to soil ecosystem health and food safety. Hyperaccumulating plants like Sedum alfredii Hance are considered to be used as part of an effective strategy for the ecological remediation of Cd polluted soils. This study delved deeply into the physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic responses of S. alfredii under cadmium (Cd) stress when treated with exogenous salicylic acid (SA). We found that SA notably enhanced the growth of S. alfredii and thereby increased absorption and accumulation of Cd, effectively alleviating the oxidative stress caused by Cd through upregulation of the antioxidant system. Transcriptomic and metabolomic data further unveiled the influence of SA on photosynthesis, antioxidant defensive mechanisms, and metal absorption enrichment pathways. Notably, the interactions between SA and other plant hormones, especially IAA and JA, played a central role in these processes. These findings offer us a comprehensive perspective on understanding how to enhance the growth and heavy metal absorption capabilities of hyperaccumulator plants by regulating plant hormones, providing invaluable strategies for future environmental remediation efforts.

Keywords: Cadmium; Metabolomics; Phytoextraction; Salicylic acid; Transcriptomics.