Full Length Research Paper
ABSTRACT
A hydroponic greenhouse study was carried out to evaluate the effects of increasing cadmium (Cd) concentration on plant growth, mineral nutrition and Cd distribution of H-250 sunflower genotype. Exposure to increasing Cd concentrations reduced plant biomass by 40, 34, 47 and 42% of the total, leaves, stem and roots dry weights as compared to the control. Regardless of the treatment most of Cd uptake by the genotype was allocated in the root, followed by leaf and stem. The higher bioconcentration factors values in both above ground and underground plant tissues and low transfer factor value indicated that this genotype may be an alternative for use in phytostabilization programs. The results also showed that increasing Cd concentration disrupted plant homeostasis as it increased the concentration of some nutrients and had adverse effect on others, impacting plant growth. In this context, the results suggest that the low magnesium, iron and manganese concentrations in the leaves were the main cause for plant biomass reduction and leaf chlorosis and necrosis, as each one of these elements plays a key role on the chlorophyll molecule and on photosynthesis process.
Key words: Bioremediation, bioaccumulation factor, heavy metal stress, Helianthus annuus, transfer factor.
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Potassium plays a central role in the water relations (Meurer, 2006), therefore the increase in leaf and root K concentrations is consistent with the need of the plant to keep the turgor, mainly in higher Cd concentrations. The increasing K concentration in sunflower roots may have helped the maintenance of water absorption by the roots and its flux to the shoot. Additionally, the increasing K concentration in the leaves may have favored the stomata opening at higher Cd concentrations, thereby maintaining the plant gas exchange during stress. The increase in K concentration in sunflower leaves obtained in this study differed from those obtained for sunflower, (Simon, 1998), cedar (Paiva et al., 2001) and maize roots, (Ciećko et al., 2004). However, the Cd concentration in the solution, the time of the exposure to Cd, and the plant age of these studies were higher than that tested in our study.
The concentration of Cd-solution has no effect in the Ca concentration in the root, stem and leaf (Figure 5D). In contrast, increasing Cd concentration has negative quadratic effect in plant Mg (Figure 5E). The estimated minimum concentration in leaf (0.231 mmol g-1 DM), stem (0.038 mmol g-1 DM) and root (0.036 mmol g-1 DM) occurred, respectively, at Cd5.0, Cd3.3 and Cd9.5.Iron, Mn, Zn, and Cu concentrations in sunflower leaves and roots are shown in Figure 6. Cadmium concentrations had positive effect on sunflower root Fe and Cu and leaf Zn but negative effect on leaf and stem Fe, leaf and root Mn, and stem and root Zn (Figure 6). The estimated minimum leaf Fe concentration (0.86 μM g-1 DW) was at Cd7.65 μM Cd, representing a reduction of 87% when compared with Fe concentration of the control (6.75 μM g-1 DW) (Figure 6A). Leaf Mn concentration decreased linearly (0.375 μM g-1 DW) with Cd solution (Figure 6B). Leaf Fe and Mn concentrations were present in concentration reverse to that of Cd. Sunflower leaf Zn concentration increased with Cd-solution (Figure 6C). The estimated maximum leaf Zn concentration 1.12 μM g-1 DW occurred at Cd7.4. Leaf Cu concentration had no change (0.929 μM g-1 DW) with Cd-solution (Figure 6D). The concentrations of Mn and Cu in the stem were below the level of detection. Sunflower root concentration of Fe and Cu increased in 0.325 and 0.075 μmol g-1 DW, respectively for each unit of Cd-solution (Figures 6A and 6D). At Cd10 the root Cu concentration, 1.57 μmol g-1 DW, was twice the value of the control plants 0.819 μmol g-1 DW. In contrast, the root concentration of Mn and Zn decreased quadratically with Cd-solution (Figures 6B and 6C). The minimum Mn 18.10 μM g-1 DW and Zn 0.90 μM g-1 DW concentrations were observed at Cd6.7 and Cd7.3, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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