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Antimony (SbIII) reduces growth, declines photosynthesis, and modifies leaf tissue anatomy in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

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Abstract

The role of antimony (Sb)—a non-essential trace metalloid—in physiological processes running in crops is still poorly understood. Present paper describes the effect of Sb tartrate (SbIII) on growth, Sb uptake, photosynthesis, photosynthetic pigments, and leaf tissue organization in young sunflower plants grown in hydroponics. We found that growth of below- and aboveground part was reduced with increasing concentration of Sb in the medium. Although Sb was mostly taken up by sunflower roots and only small part (1–2 %) was translocated to the shoots, decline in photosynthesis, transpiration, and decreased content of photosynthetic pigments were observed. This indicates that despite relatively low mobility of Sb in root-shoot system, Sb in shoot noticeably modifies physiological status and reduced plant growth. Additionally, leaf anatomical changes indicated that Sb reduced the size of intercellular spaces and made leaf tissue more compact.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciated valuable help of Dr. Andrej Pavlovič with photosynthesis measurement.

Funding

The work was financially supported by the Slovak Grant Agency VEGA No. VEGA 1/0817/12.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina B2, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Marek Vaculík, Anna Mrázová & Alexander Lux

  2. Department of Botany, Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Šafárik University, Mánesova 23, 041 67, Košice, Slovakia

    Anna Mrázová

Authors
  1. Marek Vaculík
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  2. Anna Mrázová
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  3. Alexander Lux
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marek Vaculík.

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Responsible editor: Elena Maestri

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Vaculík, M., Mrázová, A. & Lux, A. Antimony (SbIII) reduces growth, declines photosynthesis, and modifies leaf tissue anatomy in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 18699–18706 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5069-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5069-3

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