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Response of Vicia faba to short-term uranium exposure: chelating and antioxidant system changes in roots

  • Regular Paper – Physiology/Biochemistry/Molecular and Cellular Biology
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Abstract

Uranium (U) phytotoxicity is an inherently difficult problem in the phytoremediation of U-contaminated environments. Plant chelating and antioxidant systems play an authoritative role in resistance to abiotic stress. To reveal the toxicity of U, the changes of chelating system, osmoregulatory substances and antioxidant systems in Vicia faba roots were studied after short-term (24 h) U exposure. The results indicated that the development of lateral roots and root activity of V. faba were significantly inhibited with U accumulation. Compared with the control, plant chelating systems showed significant positive effects after U exposure (15 − 25 μM). Osmoregulatory substances (proline and soluble protein) increasingly accumulated in roots with increasing U concentration, and O2− and H2O2 rapidly accumulated after U exposure (15 − 25 μM). Thus, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid peroxidation, were also significantly increased. Antioxidant systems were activated after U exposure but were inhibited at higher U concentrations (15 − 25 μM). In summary, although the chelating, osmotic regulation and antioxidant systems in V. faba were activated after short-term U exposure, the antioxidases (CAT, SOD and POD) were inhibited at higher U concentrations (15 − 25 μM). Therefore, the root cells were severely damaged by peroxidation, which eventually resulted in inhibited activity and arrested root development.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 32100240]; the Experimental Technology and Management Project of Sichuan Normal University [No. SYJS202029]; and the Chinese Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates [No. 202110636026].

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Author notes

  1. Pi-xian Xiao and Xi Chen have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Life Science College, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610101, China

    Pi-xian Xiao, Xi Chen, Ning-ying Zhong, Ting Zheng, Ying-mei Wang, Guo Wu, Hong Zhang & Bing He

  2. Plant Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Center, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610101, China

    Ting Zheng & Guo Wu

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  1. Pi-xian Xiao
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Correspondence to Guo Wu.

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Xiao, Px., Chen, X., Zhong, Ny. et al. Response of Vicia faba to short-term uranium exposure: chelating and antioxidant system changes in roots. J Plant Res 136, 413–421 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-023-01443-x

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