Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cadmium induces early flowering in Arabidopsis

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:
Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

We found that cadmium promoted flowering in Arabidopsis and suppressed nitric oxide accumulation in leaves. Supplementation with NO donor SNP delayed flowering, whereas application of NO scavenger cPTIO further promoted the transition from vegetative to reproductive stage under Cd stress. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that Cd treatment up-regulated the expression of CONSTANS and FLOWERING LOCUS T, whereas down-regulated the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

cPTIO:

2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide

SNP:

sodium nitroprusside

CO :

CONSTANS

FT :

FLOWERING LOCUS T

FLC :

FLOWERING LOCUS C

References

  • Barroso, J.B., Corpas, F.J., Carreras, A., Rodriguez-Serrano, M., Esteban, F.J., Fernandez-Ocana, A., Chaki, M., Romero-Puertas, M.C., Valderrama, R., Sandalio, L.M., Del Rio, L.A.: Localization of S-nitrosoglutathione and expression of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase in pea plants under Cd stress. — J. exp. Bot. 57: 1785–1794, 2006.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bartha, B., Kolbert, Z., Erdei, L.: Nitric oxide production induced by heavy metals in Brassica juncea L. Czern. and Pisum sativum L. — Acta. biol. szegediensis 49: 9–12, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besson-Bard, A., Gravot, A., Richaud, P., Auroy, P., Duc, C., Gaymard, F., Taconnat, L., Renou, J., Pugin, A., Wendehenne, D.: Nitric oxide contributes to cadmium toxicity in Arabidopsis by promoting cadmium accumulation in roots and by up-regulating genes related to iron uptake. — Plant Physiol. 149: 1302–1315, 2009.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Durand, T.C., Hausman, J.F., Carpin, S., Alberic, P., Baillif, P., Label, P., Morabito, D.: Zinc and cadmium effects on growth and ion distribution in Populus tremula × Populus alba. — Biol. Plant. 54: 191–194, 2010.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo, F.Q., Okamoto, M., Crawford, N.M.: Identification of a plant nitric oxide synthase gene involved in hormonal signaling. — Science 302: 100–103, 2003.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He, Y.K., Tang, R.H., Hao, Y., Stevens, R.D., Cook, C.W., Ahn, S.M., Jing, L.F., Yang, Z.G., Chen, L.E., Guo, F.Q., Fiorani, F., Jackson, R.B., Crawford, N.M., Pei, Z.M.: Nitric oxide represses the Arabidopsis floral transition. — Science 305: 1968–1971, 2004.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koornneef, M., Hanhart, C.J., Van der Veen, J.H.: A genetic and physiological analysis of late flowering mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. — Mol. gen. Genet. 229: 57–66, 1991.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, S., Dhingra, H.R.: Sexual reproduction and cadmium partitioning in two mungbean genotypes raised in soils contaminated with cadmium. — Indian J. Plant Physiol. 10: 151–157, 2005.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kummerová, M., Zezulka, Š., Kráľová, K., Masarovičová, E.: Effect of zinc and cadmium on physiological and production characteristics in Matricaria recutita. — Biol. Plant. 54: 308–314, 2010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, Y.Y., Dean, C.: The transition to flowering. — Plant Cell 10: 1973–1989, 1998.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, K.X., Wang, Y.N., Han, C.Y., Zhang, W.S., Jia, H.Z., Li, X.: GA signaling and CO/FT regulatory module mediate salt-induced late flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana. — Plant Growth Regul. 3: 195–206, 2007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood, T., Gupta, K.J., Kaiser, W.M.: Cadmium stress stimulates nitric oxide production by wheat roots. — Pakistan J. Bot. 41: 1285–1290, 2009.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Michaels, S.D., Amasino, R.M.: FLOWERING LOCUS C encodes a novel MADS domain protein that acts as a repressor of flowering. — Plant Cell 11: 949–956, 1999.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mouradov, A., Cremer, F., Coupland, G.: Control of flowering time: interacting pathways as a basis for diversity. — Plant Cell 14(Suppl): S111–S130, 2002.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murashige, T., Skoog, F.: A revised medium for rapid growth and bio assays with tobacco tissue cultures. — Physiol. Plant. 15: 473–497, 1962.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Serrano, M., Romero-Puertas, M.C., Zabalza, A., Corpas, F.J., Gomez, M., Del Rio, L.A., Sandalio, L.M.: Cadmium effect on oxidative metabolism of pea (Pisum sativum L.) roots: imaging of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide accumulation in vivo. — Plant Cell Environ. 29: 1532–1544, 2006.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanita di Toppi, L., Gabbrielli, R.: Response to cadmium in higher plants. — Environ. exp. Bot. 41: 105–130, 1999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Searle, I., Coupland, G.: Induction of flowering fry, seasonal changes in photoperiod. — EMBO J. 23: 1217–1222, 2004.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, G.G.: NO flowering. — BioEssays 27: 239–241, 2005.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, G.G., Dean, C.: Arabidopsis, the rosetta stone of flowering time? — Science 296: 285–289, 2002.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stroiński, A., Chadzinikolau, T., Giżewska, K., Zielezińska, M.: ABA or cadmium induced phytochelatin synthesis in potato tubers. — Biol. Plant. 54: 117–120, 2010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suarez-Lopez, P., Wheatley, K., Robson, F., Onouchi, H., Valverde, F., Coupland, G.: CONSTANS mediates between the circadian clock and the control of flowering in Arabidopsis. — Nature 410: 1116–1120, 2001.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Valverde, F., Mouradov, A., Soppe, W., Ravenscroft, D., Samach, A., Coupland, G.: Photoreceptor regulation of CONSTANS protein in photoperiodic flowering. — Science 303: 1003–1006, 2004.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wani, P.A., Khan, M.S., Zaidi, A.: Impact of heavy metal toxicity on plant growth, symbiosis, seed yield and nitrogen and metal uptake in chickpea. — Aust. J. exp. Agr. 47: 712–720, 2007.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong, J., Lu, H., Lu, K.X., Duan, Y.X., An, L.Y., Zhu, C.: Cadmium decreases crown root number by decreasing endogenous nitric oxide, which is indispensable for crown root primordia initiation in rice seedlings. — Planta 230: 599–610, 2009.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, J., Yin, H.X., Liu, X.J., Li, X.: Salt affects plant Cd-stress responses by modulating growth and Cd accumulation. — Planta 231: 449–459, 2010.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, J., Yin, H.X., Liu, X.J., Yuan, T., Mi, Q., Yang, L.L., Xie, Z.X., Wang, W.Y.: Nitric oxide alleviates Fe deficiencyinduced stress in Solanum nigrum. — Biol. Plant. 53: 784–788, 2009.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Science and Technology Department of Qinghai Province Program (2010-H-809), the Chunhui Plan of Ministry of Education Foundation (Z2009-1-81010), the National Major Special Project on New Varieties Cultivation for Transgenic Organisms (Grant No. 2009ZX08009-130B), and the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB118305). W.Y. WANG and J. XU contributed equally to this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050021, P.R. China

    W. Y. Wang, J. Xu, X. J. Liu, Y. Yu & Q. Ge

  2. College of Life Science and Geography, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, 810008, P.R. China

    W. Y. Wang

  3. School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, 100083, P.R. China

    Y. Yu

Authors
  1. W. Y. Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. X. J. Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Y. Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Q. Ge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to J. Xu or X. J. Liu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, W.Y., Xu, J., Liu, X.J. et al. Cadmium induces early flowering in Arabidopsis . Biol Plant 56, 117–120 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-012-0025-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-012-0025-2

Additional key words

Search

Navigation