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The reduction of Cr(VI) in Salvinia minima, possible involvement of an h-type thioredoxin

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Abstract

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is extremely toxic to plant cells and has been recognized to possess a high redox potential. Tolerant plant species have shown the ability to reduce Cr(VI), but the operating mechanism involved in this process is not elucidated. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the possible involvement of thiolic and phenolic compounds and thioredoxin expression during Cr(VI) reduction in S. minima. In addition, a probable enzymatic reduction of Cr(VI) was investigated. Plants were exposed to 20 mg L−1 Cr(VI) concentration during 7 days under controlled conditions. The amount of metal accumulated in lacinias (root-like submerged leaves) and fronds (floating leaves) indicated that a low percentage of absorbed Cr(VI) was mobilized from lacinias to fronds. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis revealed that Cr(III) was the only chromium species occurring in S. minima plants. Thiols and phenolics of lacinias and fronds were increased significantly by Cr(VI) treatment, but accumulation patterns were different. The expression of an h-type thioredoxin (Trx h) was demonstrated for the first time in Cr-exposed lacinias. Enzymatic reduction showed a low contribution to the Cr(VI) reduction. Data of this study provide evidences on the involvement of thiols, thioredoxin, and phenolics in the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in S. minima tissues.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Consejo de Investigaciones de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (grant PIUNT 26 G/623) and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (grant PIP 14/151). Our special thanks to Fundación Leloir (Buenos Aires, Argentina) for the sequence analysis of Trx h and to Dr. Fernando E. Prado for the critical reading of manuscript. This research used resources of the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), an open national facility operated by the Brazilian Centre for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) for the Brazilian Ministry for Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC) (XAFS2-20170902 project).

Funding

This study was supported by Grant PIUNT 26 G/623 (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán), Argentina, and Grant PIP 14/151 (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas – CONICET), Argentina.

This research used resources of the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), an open national facility operated by the Brazilian Centre for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) for the Brazilian Ministry for Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC) (XAFS2-20170902 project).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Bioprospección y Fisiología Vegetal (INBIOFIV), CONICET-UNT. Cátedra de Fisiología Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e IML, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

    Silvana Chocobar-Ponce, Carolina Prado, Romina Tabernero & Mariana Rosa

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales (INBA), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Natalia Ilina & Eduardo Pagano

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), CONICET-Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    José M. Ramallo López & Martín D. Mizrahi

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  1. Silvana Chocobar-Ponce
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  2. Carolina Prado
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  3. Romina Tabernero
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  4. Natalia Ilina
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  5. Eduardo Pagano
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  6. José M. Ramallo López
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  7. Martín D. Mizrahi
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  8. Mariana Rosa
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Contributions

SCP and CP: Conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, and writing—review and editing.

RT: Investigation.

NI and EP: Investigation in the metal content determination in plant tissues and performed the expression of h-type Trx.

JMRL and MDM: Investigation in the XANES analysis.

MR: Conceptualization, formal analysis, supervision, and funding acquisition.

All authors: Review and editing and gave final approval for publication.

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Correspondence to Mariana Rosa.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Chocobar-Ponce, ., Prado, C., Tabernero, R. et al. The reduction of Cr(VI) in Salvinia minima, possible involvement of an h-type thioredoxin. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 3958–3966 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15967-z

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