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Salicylic Acid Ameliorates Cadmium Toxicity by Increasing Nutrients Uptake and Upregulating Antioxidant Enzyme Activity and Uptake/Transport-Related Genes in Oryza sativa L. indica

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Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is highly toxic to plants and limits crop growth and productivity; it also affects the uptake and distribution of nutrients, accelerates oxidative damage, and disrupts metabolic pathways in plants. Salicylic acid (SA) is an important stress-signaling molecule that has been reported to ameliorate the deleterious effects of Cd in many plant species. In this study, the ability of 100 µM SA application to alleviate the effects of 5 µM Cd stress was investigated in ErJiuNan1 (EJN1, an early-indica rice genotype) under hydroponic culture. The results showed that the addition of SA alleviated Cd toxicity by increasing the accumulation of nutrients (Mn, Fe), increasing the activity of antioxidative defense system (e.g., superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and soluble protein), and decreasing lipid peroxidation. SA addition in Cd-stressed rice plants upregulated the expression of Cd stress tolerance genes (OsHMA3 and OsNRAMP5), which enhanced Cd tolerance, reduced the accumulation of Cd, and affected Mn accumulation. The expression of Fe-inducible genes (OsIRT1, OsNRAMP1, OsNAS3, and OsYSL15) was upregulated in response to Cd exposure but significantly down-regulated by exogenous SA treatment. Furthermore, co-application of Cd and SA upregulated the expression of the SA biosynthesis-associated genes OsICS1 and OsWRKY6. Thus, SA application might alleviate Cd toxicity by reversing the negative effects of plant growth stemming from Cd exposure and improve Cd tolerance by modulating the expression of uptake/transport-related genes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the China National Rice Research Institute Key Research and Development Project (NO. CNRRI-2020-05), the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund (NO. CPSIBRF-CNRRI-202121), and a grant from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to the Scientific and Technical Innovation Team.

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  1. Qina Huang and Rusong Xu contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. China National Rice Research Institute, 359 Tiyuchang Road, Hangzhou, 310006, China

    Qina Huang, Yan Zhang, Zongxiong Yan & Guosheng Shao

  2. Longyou County Plantation Development Center, 138 Censhan Road, Quzhou, 324400, China

    Rusong Xu & Hongwei Chen

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  1. Qina Huang
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  2. Rusong Xu
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  3. Yan Zhang
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  4. Zongxiong Yan
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Contributions

Qina Huang and Rusong Xu: conceived and performed the experiments; analyzed and interpreted the data; measured the relative gene expression; wrote and edited this original paper. Yan Zhang and Zongxiong Yan: conducted the hydroponic experiments; conducted the elements content and autioxidant activity measurements. Hongwei Chen and Guosheng Shao: designed the experiments; wrote and edited the original paper. All authors agreed on the content of the paper and have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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Correspondence to Hongwei Chen or Guosheng Shao.

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Huang, Q., Xu, R., Zhang, Y. et al. Salicylic Acid Ameliorates Cadmium Toxicity by Increasing Nutrients Uptake and Upregulating Antioxidant Enzyme Activity and Uptake/Transport-Related Genes in Oryza sativa L. indica. J Plant Growth Regul 42, 1158–1170 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-022-10620-6

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