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N-acetyl-cysteine alleviates Cd toxicity and reduces Cd uptake in the two barley genotypes differing in Cd tolerance

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Abstract

A hydroponic experiment was carried out to study the physiological mechanisms of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) in mitigating cadmium (Cd) toxicity in two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes, Dong 17 (Cd-sensitive) and Weisuobuzhi (Cd-tolerant). Addition of 200 μM NAC to a culture medium containing 5 μM Cd (Cd + NAC) markedly alleviated Cd-induced growth inhibition and toxicity, maintained root cell viability, and dramatically depressed O ·−2 and ·OH, and malondialdehyde accumulation, significantly reduced Cd concentration in leaves and roots, especially in the sensitive genotype Dong 17. External NAC counteracted Cd-induced alterations of certain antioxidant enzymes, e.g., brought root superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase, leaf/root peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase activities of the both genotypes down towards the control level, but elevated Cd-stress-depressed leaf catalase in Dong 17 and root ascorbate peroxidase activities in both genotypes. NAC counteracted Cd-induced alterations in amino acids and microelement contents. Furthermore, NAC significantly reduced Cd-induced damage to leaf/root ultrastructure, e.g. the shape of chloroplasts in plants treated with Cd + NAC was relatively normal with well-structured thylakoid membranes and parallel pattern of lamellae but less osmiophilic plastoglobuli compared with Cd alone treatment; nuclei of root cells were better formed and chromatin distributed more uniformly in both genotypes. These results suggested that under Cd stress, NAC may protects barley seedlings against Cd-induced damage by directly and indirectly scavenging reactive oxygen species and by maintaining stability and integrity of the subcellular structure.

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Abbreviations

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

Cd:

Cadmium

GPX:

Glutathione peroxidase

GR:

Glutathione reductase

GSH:

Reduced glutathione

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

NAC:

N-acetyl cysteine

O ·−2 :

Superoxide radical

·OH:

Hydroxyl radical

PBK:

Potassium phosphate buffer

PBS:

Sodium phosphate buffer

POD:

Guaiacol peroxidase

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

SPAD:

Soil plant analysis development

TBA:

Thiobarbituric acid

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30571097, 31071365), the National 863 program (2012AA101105), the PhD Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (J20120066), and the Key Research Foundation of Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province of China (2012C12902-2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Hongyan Sun, Xuhui Zhang, Xiaoyan He, Imrul Mosaddek Ahmed, Fangbin Cao, Guoping Zhang & Feibo Wu

  2. College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Hongyan Sun

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  1. Hongyan Sun
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  2. Xuhui Zhang
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Correspondence to Feibo Wu.

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Sun, H., Zhang, X., He, X. et al. N-acetyl-cysteine alleviates Cd toxicity and reduces Cd uptake in the two barley genotypes differing in Cd tolerance. Plant Growth Regul 74, 93–105 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-014-9906-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-014-9906-z

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