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Wild plants, Andropogon virginicus L. and Miscanthus sinensis Anders, are tolerant to multiple stresses including aluminum, heavy metals and oxidative stresses

  • Biotic and Abiotic Stress
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Abstract

To isolate high-tolerant plants against aluminum (Al), heavy metals and/or oxidative stresses as a final goal, screening of Al tolerant plants from a collection of 49 wild plants was first of all performed in this study. Andropogon virginicus L. and Miscanthus sinensis Anders showed high Al tolerant phenotypes (more than 35% values in both relative root growth and germination frequency even under 900 μM Al concentration) in our screening. Al tolerance mechanisms in these two plants were characterized and the results suggested that (1) a transport system of toxic Al ions from root to shoot, (2) a suppression of Al accumulation in root tip region and (3) a suppression of oxidative damages by an induction of anti-peroxidation enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, were involved in the tolerance mechanisms. Six wild plants [Andropogon, Miscanthus, Dianthus japonicus Thunb, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv, Reynoutria japonica Houtt, and Sporobolus fertilis (Steud.) W. Clayton] were furthermore tested for their sensitivity against heavy metal stresses and oxidative stresses. The two high Al tolerant plants, Andropogon and/or Miscanthus, showed tolerance to Cr, Zn, diamide or hydrogen peroxide, suggesting common tolerance mechanisms among the tested stresses. Reynoutria showed tolerance to diamide and hydrogen peroxide, Sporobolus to Cr and Echinocholoa to Cd and Cu. Moreover, the collection of wild plants used in this study was a very useful kit to isolate tolerant plants against various abiotic stresses within a short period of time.

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Abbreviations

DCFDA:

2′,7′-Dichlorofluorescein diacetate

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

GST:

Glutathione S-transferase

MS:

Murashige and Skoog

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ms. Kanako Akashi, Ms. Tomomi Sugao and Ms. Tomoko Hayashi for their technical assistance. We also thank Dr. Kader MD Abdul for his revision and fruitful comments for our manuscript. This work received financial support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)(2) no. 16580046 to B.E. and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)(2) no. 19580066 to B.E.), JSPS Joint Project under Japan-U.S. Cooperative Science Program (to B.E.), JSPS Joint Project under Japan-Korea Cooperative Science Program (to B.E.), Special Educational Study on “Crop Improvement by Gene Analyses” (to B.E.) and Oohara Foundation for Agriculture Sciences (to B.E.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University, 2-20-1, Chuo, Kurashiki, Okayama, 710-0046, Japan

    Bunichi Ezaki, Erika Nagao, Yoshifumi Yamamoto, Susumu Nakashima & Takashi Enomoto

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  1. Bunichi Ezaki
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  2. Erika Nagao
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  3. Yoshifumi Yamamoto
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  4. Susumu Nakashima
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  5. Takashi Enomoto
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Correspondence to Bunichi Ezaki.

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Communicated by R. Schmidt.

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Ezaki, B., Nagao, E., Yamamoto, Y. et al. Wild plants, Andropogon virginicus L. and Miscanthus sinensis Anders, are tolerant to multiple stresses including aluminum, heavy metals and oxidative stresses. Plant Cell Rep 27, 951–961 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-007-0503-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-007-0503-8

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