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Leaf-based physiological, metabolic, and ultrastructural changes in cultivated cotton cultivars under cadmium stress mediated by glutathione

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Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) pollution is present in the world over especially in the industrialized parts of the world. To reduce Cd accumulation in various crops especially food crops, alleviating agents such as reduced glutathione (GSH) can be applied, which are capable either to exclude or to sequester Cd contamination. This study investigated the leaf-based spatial distribution of physiological, metabolic, and microstructural changes in two cotton cultivars (Coker 312 and TM-1) under GSH-mediated Cd stress using single levels of Cd (50 μM) and GSH (50 μM) both separately and in mix along with control. Results showed that GSH revived the morphology and physiology of both cotton cultivars alone or in mix with Cd. Cd uptake was enhanced in all segments of leaf and whole leaf upon the addition of GSH. GSH alleviated Cd-induced reduction in the photosynthetic pigment compositions and chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters. Mean data of biomarkers (2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium (TTC), total soluble protein (TSP), malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)) revealed the adverse effects of Cd stress on leaf segments of both cultivars, which were revived by GSH. The oxidative metabolism induced by Cd stress was profoundly influenced by exogenous GSH application. The microstructural alterations were mainly confined to chloroplastic regions of leaves under Cd-stressed conditions, which were greatly revived upon the GSH addition. As a whole, Cd stress greatly affected TM-1 as compared to Coker 312. These results suggest a positive role of GSH in alleviating Cd-mediated changes in different leaf sections of cotton cultivars.

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Acknowledgments

The project was financially supported by 973 Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China. Submitted paper is a part of first author postdoctoral research titled “Metabolomic, proteomic and transcriptomic changes in upland cotton under heavy metal stresses.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    M. K. Daud, Lei Mei, Muhammad Dawood, Imran Ali & S. J. Zhu

  2. Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, 26000, Pakistan

    M. K. Daud, Imran Ali, Waheed Ullah & Muhammad Jamil

  3. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK

    Lei Mei

  4. Department of Botany, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, 26000, Pakistan

    Azizullah Azizullah

  5. Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS, Abbottabad, Pakistan

    Qaisar Mahmood

  6. Department of Environmental Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

    Muhammad Dawood

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  1. M. K. Daud
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  2. Lei Mei
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  3. Azizullah Azizullah
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  4. Muhammad Dawood
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  5. Imran Ali
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  6. Qaisar Mahmood
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  7. Waheed Ullah
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  8. Muhammad Jamil
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  9. S. J. Zhu
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Correspondence to M. K. Daud or S. J. Zhu.

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Daud, M.K., Mei, L., Azizullah, A. et al. Leaf-based physiological, metabolic, and ultrastructural changes in cultivated cotton cultivars under cadmium stress mediated by glutathione. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 15551–15564 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6739-5

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