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Temporal dynamic responses of roots in contrasting tomato genotypes to cadmium tolerance

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Abstract

Despite numerous studies on cadmium (Cd) uptake and accumulation in crops, relatively little is available considering the temporal dynamic of Cd uptake and responses to stress focused on the root system. Here we highlighted the responses to Cd-induced stress in roots of two tomato genotypes contrasting in Cd-tolerance: the tolerant Pusa Ruby and the sensitive Calabash Rouge. Tomato genotypes growing in the presence of 35 μM CdCl2 exhibited a similar trend of Cd accumulation in tissues, mainly in the root system and overall plants exhibited reduction in the dry matter weight. Both genotypes showed similar trends for malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide accumulation with increases when exposed to Cd, being this response more pronounced in the sensitive genotype. When the antioxidant machinery is concerned, in the presence of Cd the reduced glutathione content was decreased in roots while ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were increased in the presence of Cd in the tolerant genotype. Altogether these results suggest APX, GR and GST as the main players of the antioxidant machinery against Cd-induced oxidative stress.

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Funding

This study was funded by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP—Grants numbers 2009/54676-0 and 2016/14349-3). RAA also thanks Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the research fellowship (Grant number 303749/2016-4).

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Borges, K.L.R., Salvato, F., Alcântara, B.K. et al. Temporal dynamic responses of roots in contrasting tomato genotypes to cadmium tolerance. Ecotoxicology 27, 245–258 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-017-1889-x

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