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Involvement of auxin and nitric oxide in plant Cd-stress responses

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Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity inhibited the seedling growth while inducing the occurrences of lateral roots (LR) and adventitious roots (AR). Further study indicated that auxin and nitric oxide (NO) are involved in the processes. In this study, we chose model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and Cd-hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum as material to examine the involvement of Cd-induced auxin redistribution in NO accumulation in plants and the effect of NO on Cd accumulation. For this aim, the histochemical staining, NO fluorescence probe (DAF-2DA) detections combined with the pharmacological study were used in this study. By using DR5:GUS staining analysis combined with NO fluorescence probe (DAF-2DA) detection, we found that Cd-induced NO accumulation is at least partly due to auxin redistribution in plants exposure to Cd. Supplementation with SNP donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) increased the number of LR and AR. In contrast, NO-scavenger 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl imidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (cPTIO) reversed the effects of NO on modulating root system architecture and Cd accumulation. These results suggest that manipulation of the NO level is an effective approach to improve Cd tolerance in plants by modulating the development of LR and AR, and provide insights into novel strategies for phytoremediation.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

AR:

Adventitious root

CAT:

Catalase

cPTIO:

2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl imidazoline-1-oxyl- 3-oxide

DAB:

3-diaminobenzidine

DAF-2 DA:

4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate

DCFH-DA:

2,7-dichlorfluorescein-diacetate

GSNO:

Sodium nitroprusside

GUS:

3-glucuronidase

IAA:

Indole acetic acid

ICP-MS:

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy

LR:

Lateral root

NBT:

Nitroblue tetrazolium

NPA:

N-1- naphthylphthalamic acid

NO:

Nitric oxide

PR:

Primary root

PVP:

Polyvinylpyrrolidone

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Super- oxide dismutase

TIBA:

2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid

X-Gluc:

5-bromo-4-chloro- 3-indolyl-β-D-glucuronic acid cyclohexyl-ammonium

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Major Special Project on New Varieties Cultivation for Transgenic Organisms (2009ZX08009-130B), the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB421102, 2009CB118305), the Science and Technology Key Project of Education Ministry, P. R. China (209133), the National Key Technologies R&D Program of China (2009BADA3B04) and the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCX2-EW-Q-25, KZCX2-YW-447).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huaizhong RD 286, Shijiazhuang, 050021, China

    Jin Xu, Jianhang Sun, Liguo Du & Xiaojing Liu

  2. College of Life Science and Geography, Qinghai Normal University, Wusi west RD 38, Xining, 810008, China

    Wenying Wang & Hengxia Yin

  3. College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China

    Yuan Zhang

  4. College of Life Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Qing Ge

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  1. Jin Xu
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  2. Wenying Wang
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  3. Jianhang Sun
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  4. Yuan Zhang
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  5. Qing Ge
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Correspondence to Jin Xu or Xiaojing Liu.

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Responsible Editor: Juan Barcelo.

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Xu, J., Wang, W., Sun, J. et al. Involvement of auxin and nitric oxide in plant Cd-stress responses. Plant Soil 346, 107–119 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0800-4

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