Abstract
Since the Industrial Revolution, crops have been exposed to various changes in the environment, including elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and cadmium (Cd) pollution in soil. However, information about how combined changes affect crop is limited. Here, we have investigated the changes of japonica and indica rice subspecies seedlings under elevated CO2 level (1200 ppm) and Cd exposure (5 μM Cd) conditions compared with ambient CO2 level (400 ppm) and without Cd exposure in CO2 growth chambers with hydroponic experiment. The results showed that elevated CO2 levels significantly promoted seedling growth and rescued the growth inhibition under Cd stress. However, the elevated CO2 levels led to a significant increase in the shoot Cd accumulation of the two rice subspecies. Especially, the increase of shoot Cd accumulation in indica rice was more than 50% compared with control. Further investigation revealed that the decreases in the photosynthetic pigments and photosynthetic rates caused by Cd were attenuated by the elevated CO2 levels. In addition, elevated CO2 levels increased the non-enzymatic antioxidants and significantly enhanced the ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities, alleviating the lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation induced by Cd. Overall, the research revealed how rice responded to the elevated CO2 levels and Cd exposure, which can help modify agricultural practices to ensure food security and food safety in a future high-CO2 world.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the first author on reasonable request.
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This research was funded by the Jiangsu Science and Technology Support Program for Social Development, grant number BE2014709, and the Science and Technology Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education, grant number GJJ200464.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Z.H., Y.Z., and Y.W. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Z.H., and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Hu, Z., Zou, Y., Wang, Y. et al. Elevated carbon dioxide concentrations increase the risk of Cd exposure in rice. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 120300–120314 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30646-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30646-x