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Cadmium-induced stress on the seed germination and seedling growth of Brassica napus L., and its alleviation through exogenous plant growth regulators

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Abstract

Because of its prolific growth, oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) can be grown advantageously for phytoremediation of the lands contaminated by industrial wastes. Therefore, toxic effect of cadmium on the germination of oilseed rape, the capability of plants for cadmium phytoextraction, and the effect of exogenous application of plant growth regulators to mitigate phytotoxicity of cadmium were investigated. For the lab study of seedlings at early stage, seeds were grown on filter papers soaked in different solutions of Cd2+ (0, 10, 50, 100, 200 and 400 μM). In greenhouse study, seedlings were grown in soil for 8 weeks, transferred to hydroponic pots for another 6 weeks growth, and then treated with plant growth regulators and cadmium. Four plant growth regulators viz. jasmonic acid (12.5 μM), abscisic acid (10 μM), gibberellin (50 μM) and salicylic acid (50 μM); and three levels of Cd2+ (0, 50 and 100 μM) were applied. Data indicated that lower concentration of Cd2+ (10 μM) promoted the root growth, whereas the severe stresses (200 or 400 μM) had negative effect on the establishment of germinating seedlings. Plants treated with any of the tested plant growth regulators alleviated cadmium toxicity symptoms, which were reflected by more fresh weight, less malondialdehyde concentration in leaves and lower antioxidant enzyme activities. The application of abscisic acid to the plants cultivated in the medium containing 100 μM Cd2+ resulted in significantly lower plant internal cadmium accumulation.

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Abbreviations

PGRs:

Plant growth regulators

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

POD:

Peroxidase

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

ICL:

Isocitrate lyase

JA:

Jasmonic acid

ABA:

Abscisic acid

GA:

Gibberellin

SA:

Salicylic acid

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Science Foundation of China (the program code: 30671339) and The Science and Technology Bureau of Zhejiang province (the program code: 2006R10002). The financial support by both of these organizations is highly acknowledged. We thank Ms. Siu-Wei Huang from Berkeley University of California for the correction of language mistakes on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 268 Kaixuan Road, 310029, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Huabing Meng, Shujin Hua, Imran Haider Shamsi, Yuanlong Li & Lixi Jiang

  2. Department of Soil Science, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, 46300, Pakistan

    Ghulam Jilani

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  1. Huabing Meng
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  2. Shujin Hua
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  3. Imran Haider Shamsi
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  4. Ghulam Jilani
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  5. Yuanlong Li
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  6. Lixi Jiang
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Correspondence to Lixi Jiang.

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Huabing Meng and Shujin Hua contributed equally to this paper.

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Meng, H., Hua, S., Shamsi, I.H. et al. Cadmium-induced stress on the seed germination and seedling growth of Brassica napus L., and its alleviation through exogenous plant growth regulators. Plant Growth Regul 58, 47–59 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-008-9351-y

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