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Effects and interactions of cadmium and zinc on root morphology and metal translocation in two populations of Hylotelephium spectabile (Boreau) H. Ohba, a potential Cd-accumulating species

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Abstract

The interactions between Cd and Zn in their effects on plants are inconsistent and difficult to predict. A hydroponic experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of Cd and Zn and their interactions on root morphology and metal translocation in two populations of Hylotelephium spectabile (Boreau) H. Ohba (Crassulaceae, HB1 and HB2). Both populations showed relative tolerance to high levels of Cd and Zn, except that the leaf biomass of HB1 significantly decreased by 44.6% with 5-mg/L Cd plus 10-mg/L Zn. Root growth was inhibited in both populations by addition of 20-mg/L Zn under Cd stress, while 10-mg/L Zn showed little impact on the root growth inhibition of HB2. Roots with diameter 0.1–0.4 mm contributed most of the total root length (RL) and root surface area (RSA) of H. spectabile. In both populations, these root parameters showed greater suppression with the combined stress of Cd plus Zn than under Cd or Zn single stress, except by adding 10-mg/L Zn under Cd stress. Moreover, HB2 maintained relatively higher RL and RSA than HB1 under the different treatments, which implied that HB2 might possess a more effective mechanism than HB1 for coping in response to Cd and Zn stress. The addition of Zn not only affected the absorption of Cd but also significantly affected the distribution of Cd in different tissues of H. spectabile. A low level of Zn led to increased Cd in the stem of HB2, but an increase in Cd in the leaf and root of HB1. Addition of 10-mg/L Zn led to a significant increase by 188% and 170% in Cd accumulation in aboveground part of HB2 under 2- and 5-mg/L Cd stress, whereas the addition of Zn had little effect on Cd accumulation in HB1. Thus, strong positive interactions of Cd and Zn occurred in HB2, which showed great potential for application in phytoremediation of soil contaminated with both Cd and Zn, warranting further investigation under field condition.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Huw Tyson, PhD, from Liwen Bianji, Edanz Editing China (www.liwenbianji.cn/ac), for editing the English text of a draft of this manuscript.

Funding

This research was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC1802604), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Nos. 41771509, 41771510, 41907125), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M650827), and Major Science and Technology Projects of Zhejiang Province (2020C02024).

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Author notes

  1. Junmei Guo and Yue Guo contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Junmei Guo, Yue Guo, Jun Yang, Junxing Yang, Guodi Zheng, Tongbin Chen & Xiaofei Meng

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Junmei Guo, Jun Yang, Guodi Zheng, Tongbin Chen & Xiaofei Meng

  3. Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, China

    Zhitao Li

  4. The Key Lab of Resource Environment and GIS, College of Resource Environment and Tourism, Capital Normal University, 105 North Road of Xisanhuan, Beijing, 100048, China

    Xuedong Wang & Jianlin Bian

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  1. Junmei Guo
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Correspondence to Junxing Yang or Zhitao Li.

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Guo, J., Guo, Y., Yang, J. et al. Effects and interactions of cadmium and zinc on root morphology and metal translocation in two populations of Hylotelephium spectabile (Boreau) H. Ohba, a potential Cd-accumulating species. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 21364–21375 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08660-0

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