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Hormesis phenomena under Cd stress in a hyperaccumulator—Lonicera japonica Thunb

Ecotoxicology volume 22, pages 476–485 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

A hydroponic experiment was carried out to investigate possible hormetic response induced by cadmium (Cd) in a potential hyperaccumulator-Lonicera japonica Thunb. The results showed that Cd at low concentrations induced a significant increase in plant growth, leaf water content and content of photosynthetic pigments in L. japonica, but decreased them at high concentrations, displayed inverted U-shaped dose response curves, confirming a typical biphasic hormetic response. The U-shaped dose response curves were displayed in malondialdehyde (MDA) and electrolyte leakage in leaves at low doses of Cd, indicating reduce oxidative stress and toxic effect. The increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities was observed along with the increased Cd concentration, indicative of increase in anti-oxidative capacity that ensures redox homeostasis is maintained. After 28 days exposure to 10 mg L−1 Cd, stem and leaf Cd concentrations reached 502.96 ± 28.90 and 103.22 ± 5.62 mg kg−1 DW, respectively and the plant had high bioaccumulation coefficient (BC) and translocation factor (TF′). Moreover, the maximum TF value was found at 2.5 mg L−1 Cd treatment, implying that low Cd treatment improved the ability to transfer Cd from medium via roots to aerial structures. Taking together, L. japonica could be considered as a new plant to investigate the underlying mechanisms of hormesis and Cd tolerance. Our results suggest that hormetic effects should be taken into consideration in phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very thankful to Dr. Dali Tao, for his help in improving the manuscript. This work was funded by the National Science and Technology Pillar Program (2012BAC05B05) and the major National Science and Technology project “Water Pollution Control and Management” (2012ZX07202008) of China.

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Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang, 110016, People’s Republic of China

    Lian Jia, Xingyuan He, Wei Chen, Zhouli Liu, Yanqing Huang & Shuai Yu

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jia 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100039, People’s Republic of China

    Lian Jia

  3. Shenyang Arboretum, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 52 Wanliutang Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang, 110015, People’s Republic of China

    Yanqing Huang

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  1. Lian Jia
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  2. Xingyuan He
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  4. Zhouli Liu
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Correspondence to Xingyuan He.

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Jia, L., He, X., Chen, W. et al. Hormesis phenomena under Cd stress in a hyperaccumulator—Lonicera japonica Thunb. Ecotoxicology 22, 476–485 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-013-1041-5

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Keywords

  • Lonicera japonica Thunb
  • Cadmium
  • Hormesis
  • Phytoremediation
  • Oxidative stress