To deal with the Cd contaminant of agricultural soil, pollution-safe cultivar (PSC) is developed to minimize the Cd accumulation risk in crops. The present study aimed to investigate the different proteomic responses related to Cd accumulation in different tissues between two Amaranthus gangeticus cultivars, Pen and Nan. A significantly higher Cd accumulation in Pen than in Nan was unraveled, especially in shoot. The proportions of soluble Cd in root and stem of Nan were significantly lower than those of Pen, implying lower Cd transportation from root to shoot in Nan. Higher contents of NaCl-extracted Cd in Pen than in Nan were probably attributed to the enhancement of GSH related metabolism in Pen, which activated the transportation of Cd from root to shoot. Alteration of other proteins involved in Cd detoxification and energy production also demonstrated that Pen had exhibited a stronger tolerance than Nan in dealing with Cd stress. Thus, differences in the proteomic processes associated with biochemical differences between the two typical cultivars suggested a cultivar-dependent capacity of Cd tolerance and accumulation in amaranth for the first time.

No abstract

No abstract

Breeding for pollution-safe cultivars (PSCs) can reduce pollutant accumulation in crops. However, the PSC breeding would face the risk of nutritional quality reduction, which is usually ignored in conventional breeding programs targeting to increase crop yield or nutritional quality. Thus, the doubt whether the risk would exist has to be clarified for supporting the PSC breeding. In the present study, a newly bred Cd/Pb-PSC of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic Forsk.) and its parents (QLQ with low-Cd/Pb accumulation ability and T308 with high yield) of water spinach were employed to clarify the above-mentioned issue. Yields, and concentrations of Cd, Pb, nitrite, and organic and inorganic nutrients in shoots of the three experimental lines were determined. There were no significant differences in Cd/Pb concentration between the new PSC and QLQ, in nitrite content between the new PSC and its two parents and in yield between the new PSC and T308. It is decisively significant that shoot concentrations of organic and inorganic nutrients in the Cd/Pb-PSC were as high as those in one of its parents. It is affirmed that the breeding operations (crossing and consequently continuous selfing) for lowering Cd/Pb accumulation capacity of water spinach would not lower the nutritional values of the obtained Cd/Pb-PSCs from the breeding, which should be a pillar that supports the feasibility to minimize Cd/Pb pollution in vegetables using PSC-breeding method.

No abstract