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Cadmium tolerance and detoxification in Myriophyllum aquaticum: physiological responses, chemical forms, and subcellular distribution

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Abstract

Submerged macrophytes have been found to be promising in removing cadmium (Cd) from aquatic ecosystems; however, the mechanism of Cd detoxification in these plants is still poorly understood. In the present study, Cd chemical forms and subcellular distributing behaviors in Myriophyllum aquaticum and the physiological mechanism underlying M. aquaticum in response to Cd stress were explored. During the study, M. aquaticum was grown in a hydroponic system and was treated under different concentrations of Cd (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.25, and 1.25 mg/L) for 14 days. The differential centrifugation suggested that most Cd was split in the soluble fraction (57.40–66.25%) and bound to the cell wall (24.92–38.57%). Furthermore, Cd in M. aquaticum was primarily present in NaCl-extractable Cd (51.76–91.15% in leaves and 58.71–84.76% in stems), followed by acetic acid–extractable Cd (5.17–22.42% in leaves and 9.54–16.56% in stems) and HCl-extractable Cd (0.80–12.23% in leaves and 3.56–18.87% in stems). The malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations in M. aquaticum were noticeably increased under each Cd concentration. The activities of catalase (CAT), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in leaves were initially increased under relatively low concentrations of Cd but were decreased further with the increasing concentrations of Cd. The ascorbate (AsA), glutathione (GSH), and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations in stems increased with increasing Cd concentrations. Taken together, our results indicate that M. aquaticum can be used successfully for phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated water, and the detoxification mechanisms in M. aquaticum include enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, subcellular partitioning, and the formation of different chemical forms of Cd.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China (Grant Nos. 2016J01695 and 2019H0036), the National Natural Science Funds of China (Grant No. 51878582), and the Natural Science Funds of Xiamen University of Technology (Grant No. XPDKT19029).

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  1. College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, China

    Guoxin Li, Qingsong Li & Lei Wang

  2. Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China

    Dandan Zhang

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Correspondence to Guoxin Li.

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Li, G., Li, Q., Wang, L. et al. Cadmium tolerance and detoxification in Myriophyllum aquaticum: physiological responses, chemical forms, and subcellular distribution. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 37733–37744 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09872-0

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