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Age-dependent responses of Phaseolus aureus Roxb. to inorganic salts of mercury and cadmium

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Abstract

Phaseolus aureus Roxb. was exposed to Hg and Cd separately at different stages/ages of its development, viz. seed germination stage and seedling stages (4th and 6th day). The responses, besides being metal specific, were also age-dependent. The root growth study at germination stage treatment (GST) revealed Hg to be more toxic than Cd, but, in contrast, at seedling stage treatment (SST) with seedlings more than 5 days old, while Cd killed all the seedlings at 30 µM concentration, Hg did not even at 200 µM. Among the enzymes studied, catalase showed greater metal specific and age-dependent responses than the peroxidases. Both the metals significantly increased the levels of chlorophylls and carotenoids at GST (25 µM Hg/Cd) and 4th day SST (20 µM Hg/Cd), but not at 6th day SST (20 µM Hg/Cd). The photosynthetic O2 evolution rate expressed as per unit chlorophyll (chl) decreased irrespective of the treatment stages, and also the metals; however, when expressed as per unit f. w., it was inhibited only at 6th day SST, exclusively by Cd. It seems that plants, unlike animals, are capable of facing challenges of metals more at younger than at older stages of their development, probably by mechanisms very different from those genetically controlled.

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  1. Institute of Life Sciences, 301 Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar, 751 007, Orissa, India

    Birendra Prasad Shaw & Nutan Prasad Rout

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  1. Birendra Prasad Shaw
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  2. Nutan Prasad Rout
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Shaw, B.P., Rout, N.P. Age-dependent responses of Phaseolus aureus Roxb. to inorganic salts of mercury and cadmium. Acta Physiol Plant 20, 85–90 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-998-0048-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-998-0048-7

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