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Growth, nutrient uptake and enzyme activity response of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) to excess copper

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Abstract

Copper is an essential element for plants, but its higher concentration can make disruption in plant growth. The current study was conducted to determine the impact of excess copper (Control 0.2, 200 and 400 µM of copper sulfate) on growth, chlorophyll content, nutrient uptake and enzyme activity in lettuce. The results of this study highlighted that chlorophyll content, superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase activity were higher in the plants exposed to copper treatments. The peroxidase activity (POD) showed a different behavior depending upon the copper concentration; in this respect, 200 and 400 µM of copper sulfate increased POD activity by 59% and 32%, respectively in comparison to the untreated one. Copper application causes a decrease in leaf area (leaf expansion), root and shoot dry weight. Copper sulfate clearly decreased N, K, P, Si, Zn and Mg content in leaves and roots, whereas it increased B content in roots. Based on the outcomes of the current study, it can be concluded that lettuce showed tolerance to copper toxicity by alteration in mineral nutrition uptake, enzyme activity, chlorophyll content and leaf expansion.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Atatürk University for its generous financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, 25240, Erzurum, Turkey

    Mostafakamal Shams, Melek Ekinci, Atilla Dursun, Raziye Kul & Ertan Yildirim

  2. Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Engineering Faculty, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Metin Turan

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  1. Mostafakamal Shams
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  2. Melek Ekinci
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  3. Metin Turan
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  4. Atilla Dursun
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Correspondence to Ertan Yildirim.

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Shams, M., Ekinci, M., Turan, M. et al. Growth, nutrient uptake and enzyme activity response of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) to excess copper. Environmental Sustainability 2, 67–73 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42398-019-00051-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42398-019-00051-7

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